


The Orokin Blues

by ThistleCity



Category: Warframe
Genre: Cetus - Freeform, Gen, Ostron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2019-10-19 10:09:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17599274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThistleCity/pseuds/ThistleCity
Summary: Years after the fall of the Orokin Empire the Tenno have become a source of stability and inspiration in the Origin System. For many in Cetus, the largest human settlemnt on Earth, these warriors have reached something of a mythical status, especially among the children who idolize them as heroes. Nikta is one such child, spending her days playing Tenno in the streets and collecting little trinkets meant to represent the warriors. Soon she will need to confront her understanding of these heroes as they threaten to take what she loves most.





	1. Chapter 1

Nyx dove for cover under a volley of bullets and Grineer swearing. She rolled behind a well placed blunt and listened to the muted thuds as the rounds slammed into the portable cover. Quickly, she turned to stick her head over the top to get a good look at her surroundings. There was a single Grineer trooper standing before her in an attempt to block her from exiting the hallway. The doors behind were still shut, but she could hear more soldiers running up in preparation to flank her. 

They were disgusting things, the Grineer, and Nyx dreaded engaging with just the one in this hall. The puke green of its armor was bathed in the orange luminescence given off by the warning lights lining the corridor. In truth, she hated the sight of the degenerate clones and would have much rather been fighting a horde of Corpus proxies, but you can’t always pick your mission. 

The Grineer had emptied it’s clip into the blunt and fumbled to reload before Nyx could react, but that was all the time she needed. A quick vault over the glorified airbag, and Nyx sprung forward, spiraling her body through the air. The force of the jump was enough for Nyx to sail over her enemy’s head with her Zaw extended. The Grineer didn’t even know what hit it, and its head hit the ground before it’s body crumpled to follow.

Nyx wiped her zaw on the body, decorating the armor with a streak of red. It was a cruel weapon, a short sword with jagged teeth lining one edge. Deadly and efficient, this was easily Nyx’s most prized weapon. A zaw was a labor of love. There were many standard blueprints the Tenno used, but a personalized zaw could only be found one place in the entire Origin System. She stopped and took a moment to admire the way the light caught on the edge of the blade. The art of smithing was still alive in Cetus.

Nyx was pulled out of her thoughts when her coms lit up. Volt was down, and she had to move if she was going to get him up in time. It sounded like the Grineer behind Nyx had reorganized themselves, and she new she had to move fast. Nyx threw herself into the air and took off down the hall, leaping from surface to surface. Her warframe made gravity more of a suggestion than a law, and she relished the rush of wind on her face. As she made her way to Volt’s location, Nyx scanned her coms again. It had been a while since she heard anything from Rhino or Inaros, and she was starting to worry. The two heavily armored frames were difficult enough to take down on their own, much less together. This mission was taking longer than expected though, and the Grineer were starting to rally some of their more elite units. 

Nyx turned the last corner and made her way toward the room where Volt had been downed. An Ice Eximus Heavy Gunner stood in the doorway before her and began to laugh as it poured rounds at her. Nyx felt as the bullets slammed into her shields. She’d kitted herself out to take as much punishment as possible but her enemy's gorgon mini-gun could throw out a lot of bullets in a very short time. Nyx didn’t want to risk falling before she could help Volt, and fighting this Grineer one on one would take time she didn’t have. An Eximus was empowered with Orokin technology, either salvaged or reverse engineered. In this case, the Gunner gave off an aura of intense cold which slowed nearby enemies and allowed it to put up shields of ice. Nyx would need to fight smart if she was going to make it to Volt. It was a good thing “smart” was Nyx’s preferred tactic.

Nyx threw out a wisp of seafoam-colored energy as she neared her foe. The Grineer’s laughter began to change as the energy settled around it’s head, going from malicious to placated, like it was caught up in a happy dream. The gun wound down and the Grineer looked around like it forgot where it was. Nyx could feel her suit speed up as the polarity of the Grineer’s aura changed, synching so it no longer affected her. Instead, any enemy units would find themselves slowing in its aura. Nyx dove past the Eximus as she heard the door behind her open. Nyx knew Grineer grunts were probably pouring into the hallway but she didn’t bother to turn around. Instead she listened for the sound of the Gorgon winding up, followed by confused shouting as the Eximus began firing on its former allies. Nyx giggled as she made it to the other end of the hall.

Nyx burst into the room Volt was in and found herself surrounded by Grineer grunts. It looked like Volt had been brought down by sheer force of numbers, though not without a fight. Charred remains of Grineer littered the room, some still twitching as residual electricity discharged from their broken bodies. The occupants of the room all turned on Nyx as she entered, but she had little patience for them. Releasing a burst of energy Nyx caused the Grineer to fall upon each other in confusion. Her ability to warp the minds of her enemies was especially useful in situations like this. Now Nyx could turn her attention to Volt. 

She quickly found him... Standing in the middle of the room... Fighting an Eximus butcher…

“I thought you were down?” Nyx sliced off the arm of a Grineer attempting to sneak up on Volt.

“No I wasn’t.” Volt parried a slash from the Eximus.

“Yes you were.”

“Nope.” Volt shocked the Eximus, causing it to convulse and collapse.

“Yes, you were!” Nyx’s voice rose as she balanced, speaking to Volt while parrying incoming attacks.

“Inaros and Rhino are missing, and I decided I didn’t want to be saved by a girl.”

“WHAT!?” Nyx whirled on Volt, ignoring the melee around them. 

Volt turned to Nyx and gave a noncommittal shrug. “I mean, it makes sense for Tenno to save each other, but would Nyx really be saving Volt? She’s just the one that makes everyone fight over her.”

Tears began to well in Nyx’s eyes and she opened her mouth to say something hurtful but stopped when she saw the fear on Volt’s face. Not fear of her, but fear of something else, something behind her.

Nyx turned and realized why Inaros and Rhino were missing. A corrupted ancient lashed out and grasped her weapon arm. She struggled to get away but it’s grip was too strong. Volt turned to run but even he was too slow. Nyx went limp, knowing there was no escaping the horror they were about to experience.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What the hell do you IDIOTS think you’re doing?” Hok slammed the table. The old blacksmith’s face was deep red bordering on purple as he surveyed the his captives. Nikta looked down at her hands and said nothing.

“That’s what I thought!” Hok slammed the table again, making the four children sitting on it jump. Nikta, Crae, Alphim and Meti had decided they wanted to use real zaws while playing Tenno today, and had taken the liberty of acquiring a few from Hok’s stand. They made sure to get the dullest, least appealing zaws, but that didn’t seem to matter now.

“You fucking kids! These are weapons! WEAPONS!” Hok jammed one of the zaw blades into the table point first, and left it to quiver threateningly. “These. Are. Not. Toys!” Nikta felt her face flushing with shame. Hok may be gruff, but he was always kind to the children of Cetus; he’d even tell them if a Tenno in a rarely seen Warframe would be coming to pick up an order so they could hide near the stall and get a good look. Now she felt like she’d betrayed him.

Hok went silent, and Nikta peeked up from under her bangs to see what he was going to do. He hadn’t moved yet, and simply stood there stroking his beard. She hoped that he’d let them go soon; she could hear chatter amongst the stalls as they started to attract an audience. Nikta even saw a Tenno out the corner of her eye. It was in an Excalibur warframe, standing at the edge of the crowd, arms crossed and looking at the children. The warrior’s thoughts were inscrutable as ever. Nikta swallowed and felt her face grow warmer. It was one thing to get in trouble in front of the townsfolk that knew her, but getting yelled at in front of one of the Tenno whom she and her friends idolized... that was another thing entirely.

“Right.” Hok was no longer yelling, at least, although his voice remained an intimidating growl. He stepped forward and scooped the nearest child up off the bench, which just so happened to be Nikta. “I’ve got too much to do to bother teaching kavats to play fetch. We’ll get this over with fast and I don’t want to see you near here for the rest of the day!” 

In one smooth move Hok sat down on a crate next to his stall and flipped Nikta over his knee. The girl tensed at what she knew was coming, and Hok took four good passes at her rump. Nikta was 10 now, and hadn’t been spanked like this in years. This was a punishment for the younger children who had trouble learning from words alone; in fact she’d spanked one of the littler kids just recently for trying to sneak out the gates of the city. The fact that Hok felt she needed a spanking was embarrassing in itself. It didn’t help that the man had years of forging weapons built up in his arms. Even four swats were more than enough to get the point across, and tears for her stinging bottom welled in Nikta’s eyes. Nikta didn’t cry though, she did her best to keep some sort of composure while they were being watched. A Volt had just joined the Excalibur, and she refused to look like a weak little girl in front of them.

Hok flipped Nikta off his knee and the girl stumbled backwards and stood waiting, hands clasped behind her and eyes looking down. The weapon maker turned to the other three children and looked them over. “Next.” The three shifted uncomfortably, each trying to be the least obvious victim on the bench.

Hok’s patience visibly began to run out, and as he was preparing to get up one of the kids pushed another off the bench. It was poor little Meti who hit the ground. Tears were streaming down his face and he made a snot filled whimpering sound as he slowly walked to Hok. The man grabbed him and gave him four smacks as well, which caused the boy to burst into tears in earnest. Nikta felt sorry for her friend. Meti was the same age as Nikta but scrawnier and a full head shorter. He always chose to be Rhino when they played Tenno, but playing make believe as one of the system’s toughest warriors did little to change Meti from the crybaby he was in real life. As soon as Hok let the little boy off his lap Meti ran into the crowd, bawling his eyes out. Nikta wanted to follow him but didn’t want to seem scared of Hok. She would find Meti later and make sure the boy was okay.

Next came Alphim, by his own volition. Alphim was Nikta’s senior by three years and the son of the town’s most skilled mason. Alphim was already tall and muscular from helping his father at his work. He was just young enough to be allowed to spend part of his time playing with the others though, and they were always happy to see him. Hok gave Alphim four swats like the others. It seemed to Nikta that these were harder than her or Meti received, probably because Alphim was older and should have known better.

Finally came Crae, their unofficial leader and group firebrand. The 11 year old had been adopted by an older couple after his family had been killed in a Grineer raid. Nikta had heard the adults describe Crae as having a chip on his shoulder. She didn’t know about that but the boy could be moody. However, Nikta didn’t think Crae was a bad person. Of Nikta’s close friends Crae was probably the most driven, constantly talking about joining the Cetus militia and someday saving children like himself from the Grineer. Crae did tend to be a little too independent, and this often caused friction between himself and others.

Normally Crae wasn’t afraid to talk back to adults, even when he was in trouble, but he didn’t say anything as he approached Hok. The weaponsmith was intimidating enough when he was in a good mood and even Crae had the sense not to make things any worse. Hok grabbed the boy by the waist, flipped him over his knee and gave Crae the same four hits as the others. Crae’s face was blank during the ordeal until Hok followed up with an extra four. The shock and pain immediately showed on Crae’s face and he retreated from Hok as soon as he was set back on the ground.

“What the hell old man? You think you can just beat me extra for fun?” Crae had a confrontational tone but continued to back up. The boy almost tripped over himself when Hok stood up.

“Don’t you talk back to me. You should know exactly why you got extra, you little ingrate.” 

Crae continued to back up under Hok’s glare and bumped into Nikta, startling them both. Nikta saw Crae scanning the area, as if he was going to make a run for it. Before he could move, Alphim stepped forward and locked arms with Crae so he wouldn’t be able to escape. Alphim shot Nikta a look around Crae’s back. It took her a moment but she realized what he wanted and Nikta quickly grabbed Crae’s other arm. Hok continued to angrily advance but Nikta thought she saw a little amusement cross his face.

“I never, ever want to hear you say you don’t want to be rescued by someone again. I don’t give a damn if you’re playing pretend. We’ve only got each other out here, and if you need help and someone is willing to give it you damn well accept it!”

Hok’s voice had continued to rise while he was saying this and there were a couple of claps from the gathered crowd. “Now, what do you say to Nikta?”

Crae was bright red, and looked over at Nikta, or at least the ground in front of her, and muttered something.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” Hok put a mocking hand to his ear.

“I’m sorry I didn’t want to be helped.” Crae spoke up this time, but his voice was strained.

“Aaaand?” Hok didn’t say a word so much as make a threatening rumble for Crae to continue.

“And I will accept your help anytime you’re willing to give it.” Crae looked up into Nikta’s eyes as he said this, and she saw a tense pride on his face, like it was all he could do to force himself to say the words at someone else’s direction. There was sincerity in his eyes though, and Nikta didn’t want to put Crae through any more embarrassment. She stepped forward and gave him a hug in place of a response, and Crae returned her embrace, saying a small thanks in her ear.  
Once again a few people in the crowd clapped, which caused Nikta and Crae to break off their hug in a hurry. Hok seemed to accept this and nodded. “Alright you little shits, get out of here.” He hadn’t even finished the sentence before Nikta, Crae and Alphim were retreating through the crowd, trying their best to avoid the looks of the shoppers. Hok had to yell to get his final warning to them, “And I’d better not see you back round here anytime soon!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikta and her friends ran as hard as they could from the stalls that dominated Cetus until they reached the shore of the lake at which the city resided. Workers were bringing in a new harvest from Unum and huge slabs of meat sat on the shore, staining the shallows red with blood. A few of the workers turned and waved to the three children and Nikta made sure to wave back.

“That was lucky, we might have died if we hadn’t run away.” Crae was leading the other two, his arms were crossed behind his head and he was leaning back into them. Nikta felt he was trying a bit too hard to save face after their punishment.

“We didn’t almost die, and the punishment wouldn’t have been as bad if you didn’t feel like running your mouth. Besides, I told you taking those zaw parts from Hok’s stand was a bad idea.” Alphim’s voice was flat. Nikta liked the older boy, but didn’t always understand him. Sometimes he would point out the obvious or repeat what someone had said, then give a little grin like it was some kind of joke. Nikta would smile and nod at this, assuming there was something to these jokes she’d understand as she got older.

“That’s easy for you to say, you got half the punishment as me!” Crae whirled on Alphim. “And besides, Hok’s friends with your parents so he probably went easy on you.”

“Yeah, cause he’ll tell them what happened later and I’ll have to go a second round with my dad.” Nikta flinched at this. Alphim’s father was probably the only other one in Cetus who was as strong as Hok, if not more so.

Crae’s face remained blank, and he turned his back to them once again. “Yeah, well that’s your problem.” 

Nikta saw that Alphim was glaring at the back of Crae’s head and she placed her hand on his arm. Alphim looked to her and his face softened a little. Crae could be difficult, and he didn’t always understand how his decisions could affect others. He did have a good track record of making things up though, and this was the main reason Nikta continued to be his friend. She knew he would back them up in a pinch, especially if Crae was the one who got them in there in the first place.

“Tell your dad I showed up with the zaw parts. He can think I stole them and just didn’t tell you.” Crae shrugged, “It’s not like my Ma or Pa will be doing anything to me.” Crae’s adoptive parents were notoriously lenient, a point of jealousy with the children and contention with the adults.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll tell my dad that if he wants to punish anyone it should be you, since you won’t get taught a lesson at your home.”

“Now hold on!” Crae stopped suddenly and looked stricken. Both Nikta and Alphim broke into laughter at Crae’s face. Crae glared at the two and changed the subject by pointing at a shadow retreating into the sky.

“Hey, I think a Tenno may be visiting the plains. Let’s get to the gate and take a look!” The three children broke into a run as they made their way through the bustle of Cetus.

Easily the largest settlement on Earth, Cetus was the result of generations of hard work and determination. The origin system had been thrown into chaos after the fall of the Orokin, the former rulers of humanity and its offshoots, and there was no such thing as a safe haven for a very long time. The families that founded Cetus managed to find such a haven on Earth under the protection of the tower Unum. The tower was an old Orokin relic, supposedly with its own consciousness and the ability to think and speak, though Nikta had never seen anyone speak to it herself. A bio-mechanical marvel, the tower could shut down any electronic device within a limited range, a feat that had been demonstrated on invading forces in the past. This didn’t mean the Ostron were completely safe; invaders could still get to Cetus by foot, and the tower couldn’t do much to stop a simple ballistic weapon. The Ostron had built a wall surrounding Cetus to stop these more mundane threats. The gate opened up into the Plains of Eidolon, an expanse of land rich in useful animals, plants and minerals, but equally populated with relics from the Old War, more dangerous than ever without a purpose to guide them.

Luckily the Tenno had an interest in the secrets held within the Plains of Eidolon and would often use Cetus as their home base when making excursions. The people of Cetus could put requests to the Tenno through the elder Konzu and would often repay the Tenno in credits or favors. Of course, the traffic that went through the gate was of great interest to the children of Cetus, who were fascinated by the Tenno and their Warframes.

The three arrived at the giant gold and white gates leading to the plains to find a few other children waiting patiently. Nikta recognized Ceda, another girl her age, along with a few others. Ceda waved at Nikta as they came over.

“Hey, Nikta?” Ceda seemed slightly puzzled now that they had arrived.

“What? We saw the lander so we came to check the gate.”

“Yes, but I thought you’d be home.”

“Why...?”

Ceda frowned, “Because of the proxies, I thought you and your brother may have important visitors.”

“What!?” Nikta’s voice came out louder and squeakier than she meant. There was no reason for there to be proxies at her home.

Another child added, “Yeah, there were a couple of MOA outside your house. Nice ones too.”

Nikta didn’t bother responding. Instead she turned to sprint home, shoving her way past anyone unfortunate enough to get in her way. The wind whipped at her face for a second time today, but it didn’t have the same feel to it as when she was playing Tenno. She had no idea what was going on, but it was big. Corpus Proxies were only allowed in Cetus under extreme circumstances.


	2. Chapter 2

Nikta ran through Cetus, trying to keep moving as fast as her mind was racing. She felt off. Her stomach was in knots and she was beginning to feel light headed. Only the most important merchants were allowed to bring bodyguards into Cetus. Whoever was visiting Hakim, Nikta’s brother, had power and connections. The fact that someone like that was seeking her brother... She didn’t want to jinx it, but maybe they had some means of curing the illness that had been plaguing her brother since childhood.

As Nikta ran, the settlement began to transform from the bustling open-air stalls of the market to the more conventional, cylindrical homes used by the Ostron. The streets curved wildly through the Ostron homes, having been built after the homes rather than before. Each house was a patchwork of scavenged materials. Wood, metal and even some of the strange chitinous materials found in the plains were used to build the homes, which were insulated with layers of plaster. Each house had an open floor plan, usually split into individual rooms with curtains or short partitions. Potentially a second cylinder would be built on to make a second room. The homes were fairly close together, but that didn’t stop the Ostron from individualizing them. Most of the homes had small raised beds and small structures meant to honor the owner’s ancestors. Nikta did her best not to knock anything over as she charged between the houses, opting for the quickest route home rather than the easiest. It was only when she reached the outskirts of the housing district that Nikta began to slow.

Ceda had indeed told the truth. Flanking the door to Nikta’s simple home were a pair of MOAs, the robotic guards used and sold by the Corpus. She’d seen MOAs accompanying Corpus dignitaries who visited the settlement, and their design always baffled her. The Mobile Offensive Armeteur were as tall as a fully grown man, but the majority of their height was taken up by long, armored legs. MOA’s were incredibly stable; they had articulating feet that could be used to grip the ground, and their legs could rotate in ways a living creature’s couldn’t. To accomplish this, the MOA’s components were housed in its thick thighs, meaning there was little need for a traditional body. Instead of a torso, MOAs were topped with a rotating platform housing a sensor array and gun “head.”

As soon as Nikta stepped into the sights of the two MOAs, they began to track her with their guns. She wanted to yell that it was her house, but Nikta had enough sense to fear being fired on. Instead, she retreated behind one of the adjacent homes and stuck her head around the side. The two robots seemed aware of where she’d gone and kept their barrels trained on her hiding spot, but they made no move to follow her. Nikta considered her options. She could sit outside and wait for whatever was happening to be over, or she could try to sneak in. One option ran the risk of her never finding out what was going on and the other risked her getting shot by a Corpus proxy. It wasn’t much of a decision, really, and curiosity quickly won. Nikta decided her best option would be to make her way around to the back of the house and listen in under Hakim’s window.

Nikta bolted around the buildings near her home while trying her best to stay silent, and avoid crossing the MOA’s line of vision. It felt like every sound she made was amplified louder by a thousand times. Any rock she kicked crashed like a boulder, sticks snapped like falling trees, and Nikta’s heart pounded so loudly in her ears she was convinced the MOA would hear it. Eventually, Nikta made it safely around to the back of her house. Just as she stopped to catch her breath, she heard the whirring of servos. Nikta crouched behind a nearby bush just in time to avoid detection as a MOA did a sweep around the perimeter of the house. She cursed at herself for being so stupid; of course the MOA would be checking all around the house.

Nikta hung her head in defeat as the MOA made its way back around to the front. She didn’t know how often the MOAs were sweeping the area but she didn’t dare try and listen outside her brother’s window now. It was too likely she would miss the sound of servos and be discovered. Nikta didn’t know how aggressive their programming was, but she knew that MOAs could hurt or even kill a kid just as easily as it would an adult.

Nikta wished desperately that she was a Tenno so she could stealthily sneak up behind the MOAs and disable them with no one the wiser. Maybe she would go invisible like the stealthy Loki or Ash, or make a bubble of silence like Banshee. She’d even settle for Hydroid’s powers so she could turn into a puddle of water. Nikta stared up at her home, desperately wishing for these abilities when an idea struck. Maybe she couldn’t use the abilities of a Tenno, but she could try to move like them!

Nikta backed up a little and looked up at the roof of her home while she considered her plan. Most Ostron homes were built with a large vent so a fire could be lit in the home. The use of fire for heat and cooking began to dwindle as the Ostron rebuilt following the collapse of the Orokin Empire. A majority of households now had electric heating elements and had repurposed the top structure as a loft or small room. Nikta and her brother didn’t have such a luxury, and their home’s chimney was still functional, and easily large enough for Nikta to listen down.

Carefully listening for the sound of servos, Nikta approached her house. She ran her fingers over the plaster, and it didn’t take long for her to find a few small divets that would serve as handholds. Nikta took a deep breath and carefully began climbing. She did her best to be both quick and quiet. A couple times, Nikta came to a spot where there were no more holds to use and had to dig some out herself. The old plaster had a grainy texture and it broke apart easily with a little prying. Nikta created a waterfall of cascading sand down the side of the house. It got in her mouth, and, even worse her eyes, leaving her clinging to the house as she blinked to clear her vision. She was worried the MOA would hear but they never made a second pass.

Eventually Nikta made it to the roof of the building and carefully made her way to the center vent. Grasping the top of the chimney, she pulled herself up to hang over the edge. The rim of the vent was too thin to sit on. Instead Nikta draped herself over the edge of the chimney and lowered her head into the yawning hole. She reached out to steady herself on the far edge of the hole, but her arms were too short. In the end Nikta just had to hang over the edge of the chimney by her belly, slowly kicking her legs in the air to keep herself balanced. Her eyes were still used to the light of the outdoors and the house was pitch black by comparison. Luckily Nikta’s ears didn’t need to adjust and she was able to catch snippets of the conversation below.

“... my answer is no.” Hakim’s voice floated up to Nikta, deep and raspy. He sounded frustrated.

Nikta didn’t recognize the voice that answered. It was cool and disaffected tone of a Corpus trader but the accent wasn’t quite right. “I don’t think you understand, this decision will be made for you, and you do not want that to happen. Ah, ah, listen to me. The Lotus has the best intelligence network in the system, but only by so much. She’s the only one aware of your condition for now, but word will soon reach the Corpus and Grineer. If that happens, you won’t be the only one at risk.”

“Don’t you dare come in here and threaten me and my sister! If you think…”

“Young man, I don’t think you’re grasping what I am saying. I am giving you facts, not threats. Let me... put things in perspective for you.”

The voice continued to speak but the words became distant, like they were whispering. Nikta leaned further and further forward, trying desperately to hear what was being said. She didn’t know who this person was, but she already knew that she hated them. Not only were they threatening her brother, but they sounded slimy. 

Nikta felt it the moment she leaned too far forward. It was like her entire mass had shifted from her bottom to her top. Her butt was suddenly weightless and her head filled with rocks as she desperately tried to right herself. She scrabbled at the walls in the hopes of catching herself, but the damage was done. As she fell Nikta had a thought and even felt hopeful. She’d seen Tenno leap from greater heights than this. All they did was crouch and roll into the landing. If Nikta could mimic that she’d be able to land silently and continue eavesdropping. That hope quickly faded as she hit the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikta landed on her stomach with a kind of whooshing squeak as the air was forced from her lungs. Her vision went blurry and she could swear she heard her brain rattling in her head. She heard Hakim yelling, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. Nikta tried to roll over but only ended up flailing. She thought about how she’d overestimated her abilities and wondered if she did really think she was Nyx for a moment. Nikta wasn’t though, and now the MOA outside would soon vaporize her. Nikta braced herself for the shot, but it never came. Instead, a pair of hands grabbed her shirt and roughly stood her up. Nikta steadied herself and wheeze as she tried to force herself to remember how to breathe. Nikta looked up to acknowledge the help, and just about fell back down in surprise.

Looming above Nikta was a tall man in a metallic, high-collared outfit. Sitting on his head was a kind of pyramidal headdress that covered his eyes, revealing only his thin, stern mouth. Behind him stood the MOAs, their barrel-faces glowing a dull blue as their weapons charged. Or, at least, one of the MOAs was charging; the other had managed to catch itself in the curtain that served as the front door, and was scratching at its face with an articulated foot. It would have been humorous if it hadn’t been completely terrifying.

“And who might you be, my little spy?” The man’s voice was flat and unamused as he addressed Nikta. He was holding up a single fist, indicating he was currently keeping his MOAs from firing. Nikta desperately tried to cough out an answer, but her lungs weren’t cooperating.

“This is my younger sister, Nikta.” Hakim came hobbling out of his room on crutches. Nikta didn’t even need to look at him to know the dark scowl he’d be wearing on his tanned face.

The man opened his clenched fist and slowly lowered his hand, and the MOA’s barrel began to wind down. It turned its attention to its partner, and began to extract the curtain from the flailing robot’s head. The man looked to Hakim, very obviously ignoring Nikta. “I believe we were coming to the end of our conversation before we were interrupted. I’ll not belabor the point. The offer I represent is the best you’ll receive. I’ll give you time to think it over. I’m sure you’ll be able to contact me if you decide to accept.” The man looked up at the roof then back down to Nikta. She didn’t need to see his eyes to know he was glaring at her. “And maybe consider explaining the differences between the world of adults and that of children to your sister.” With that, the man turned and strode out of the house, his two MOAs flanking him.  
Nikta’s voice returned, too late.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Timidly, Nikta stuck her head through the curtain to her brother’s room. “It’s time to wash up.” Hakim sat up from his bed and said nothing. He was still scowling after lecturing her a few hours prior. Hakim looked at Nikta then took a moment to shut his eyes and take a deep breath before turning his back to her and taking off his shirt. Nikta gave a small sigh of relief. She’d felt horrible ever since the incident that morning and had been worried Hakim would just send her away. Dinner was soon and she didn’t know if she’d be able to eat if Hakim didn’t forgive her at least a little. She’d come to help clean Hakim up earlier than usual because of this.

Nikta set two small buckets down near Hakim, one full of warm water and the other empty. She then sat cross legged behind him and pulled a sponge from the bucket of water and pressed it to the base of his neck. The water from the sponge flowed into the wrinkles and cracks that laced Hakim’s blackened skin like canals. Through some miracle Nikta’s brother had managed to not only survive an attack by the Infested, but also held the infestation in himself at bay. Gently Nikta wetted Hakim’s back then pulled out a rough piece of stone and began running it along his back, shaving flecks of skin and infested growths into the empty bucket. 

Years ago, shortly before Nikta was born, the Grineer had made an attempt to take Cetus. There were many measures taken against this, the most prominent being the tower Unum’s energy field, which selectively disabled hostile technology in the area. In their attempt to bypass this, the Grineer employed a biological weapon, the Infested. A mutagenic disease born when the Orokin ruled, the Infested are a powerful but unwieldy weapon. Through careful planning the Grineer managed to introduce a few Infested near Cetus. From there the disease spread in the outlying population. By the time anyone had realized what was going on, the Ostron found themselves under siege.

Ultimately the Grineer’s plans failed. The Ostron managed to hold off the Infested long enough for the Tenno to come to their aid. There were many casualties, and the process of cleansing the area of the Infested threat took months of hard work, but Cetus stood and no Infested had been seen since. Hakim was the notable exception. He never spoke about what happened, but Nikta had managed to put the story together through the recollections of others.

At some point during the siege of Cetus, Hakim had been tackled by a charger, one of the twisted, dog-like Infested. The charger had been pulled off him almost immediately, but still managed to cut into Hakim’s back, introducing the disease into his bloodstream. The effects weren’t immediate, and Hakim’s wounds were treated with the rest of the victims. At some point during the purge following the attack Hakim realized that his wound was beginning to fester with the same growths found on the infested. The young Hakim had panicked and did his best to hide his affliction, fearing he would be banished or worse. He might have at that early stage, and it would have been called a mercy. Victims of the Infested became little more than bloodthirsty drones and anyone would opt for death instead. Hakim’s infection wasn’t discovered until almost a year later when small nodules began growing from the afflicted area and he couldn’t conceal his condition any longer.

The discovery of Hakim’s condition was met with alarm and interest. No one in Cetus had heard of someone resisting the Infestation before, and a trusted doctor was called to confirm what many assumed. For some reason the Infestation was unable to dominate Hakim like it did other living creatures. It could grow in his body, but at a much slower rate than usual and it seemed unable to consume Hakim’s mind. Not only that, but something about Hakim rendered the Infestation inert. It was determined that he didn’t pose an immediate risk to the rest of the community.

After some deliberation, the Ostron elders decided to let Hakim live out his life in peace. He posed no threat and the Ostron have a strong collective identity. The Ostron do not turn away another in need. The community did it’s best to hide Hakim’s condition from outsiders. His resistance to the infestation would make him a valuable specimen to the various factions vying for control of the Origin System, and the Ostron would not let one of their own become a lab rat.

Nikta ran her hand along Hakim’s back. This was a daily routine, but her fascination with the effects of the Infestation never changed. Hakim’s uninfested skin was the same dark olive color as Nikta’s, but began to pucker and discolor as it approached the infection. Only Infested skin could be found on Hakim’s back, running down to his left thigh. It had a sort of leathery texture in most places, but it lacked the toughness of leather and the top layer easily sloughed off. If the top layer of skin came off or even cracked a little it would ooze a thick bluish pus. The pus was easy enough to clean off when wet, but if Hakim was too active or the infected area received too much trauma the pus hardened into a thick shell, like a bug.

Nikta squeezed the sponge into the once empty bucket as it became saturated with pus or covered with flakes of skin. She worked her way down Hakim’s back and side while he dabbed at his chest and privates. After Nikta was done on Hakim’s back she knelt in front of Hakim and cleaned the skin around his neck that he couldn’t see. Hakim didn’t look half bad after they were finished. His skin was still blue and leathery but he wasn’t sticky anymore. Nikta did one last sweep to sop up any spots that were missed, before turning her attention to any growths that had gotten out of hand. 

The pus wasn’t the only side effect of his infection. He also grew small, pulsating nodules on his skin. At their smallest these were harmless, but they could grow and become large and tender. The nodes usually appeared in sheltered areas, such as the nape of his neck or under his armpits. Currently Hakim had a short carpet of these on his neck that Nikta was trying to get ahead of. One large polyp was growing in the center of the group. It was a couple inches long and almost half again as thick. Nikta could tell this one was starting to get painful. The dark leather was beginning to split and it was developing a soft, red core that pulsated in time with Hakim’s heart. Nikta grabbed an elastic band from beside the bed and carefully wrapped it around the node, layering the band so it was as tight as possible. This would cut off circulation to the nodule and it would die and fall off before it could get any larger.

Finally Nikta dried Hakim’s back and helped him put on a fresh shirt. “Thanks.” Hakim didn’t look at Nikta.

“Of course, that’s what family’s for.” Nikta began collecting Hakim’s dirty clothes to wash later.

Hakim shook his head despondently. “Not like this. I wish you’d grown up with a brother who didn’t need constant care.” Hakim sighed and laid back down. Nikta stood at the entrance of his room and looked at him over the pile of clothes in her arms. The infection was just beginning to reach his jaw, and the left side of his face was aging prematurely because of it.

“Don’t say that. You don’t know if a healthy brother would love me any more than you do.”

Hakim gave a weak smile and looked up at Nikta. “Yeah. I don’t think he would.”


	3. Chapter 3

Nikta did her best to stay out of trouble after her experience with Hok. She spent time making herself useful, running small errands for the various merchants of Cetus, and doing her best to redeem any ill will she may have garnered. She still had plenty of time to play, though, and found herself skipping rocks across lake on the edge of town with Alphim a week later. 

The two were trying to shear a single blade of grass that was growing out in the shallows of the lake and had slowly been adding rules. At present they had to get at least two skips before the rock hit the grass. Nikta had just found a perfectly smooth little disk of a rock and was waiting for her shot when Meti came running down the incline from Cetus. “Nikta! Alph!” Meti was waving his arms over his head as if they wouldn’t be able to notice him otherwise. The two children waited for the smaller boy to reach them. Meti put his hands on his knees and bent over, wheezing. 

Both Nikta and Alphim turned their attention to the smaller boy. They hadn’t seen him in over a week. Meti was a delicate child and had been shaken up after being punished by Hok. Not only that, but Nikta heard that he’d received twice the punishment from his mother when she learned what he’d done. Meti had been rather obviously avoiding his friends since then. The day after the incident, Nikta had called a hello to Meti, and he turned and ran in the opposite direction. This didn’t bother Nikta or the others any; this was far from the first time something like this had happened. They knew it would be a matter of time before Meti worked up the nerve to come hang out with them again.

“What’s up, Meti?” Alphim absentmindedly juggled his stone in one hand while patting Meti on the back with the other. “Are you running with us again?”

“Yes… no, maybe. I don’t know.” Meti shook his head and straightened even though he was still obviously winded. “That doesn’t matter. You know the group that disappeared while out on the plains the other day?”

Both Nikta and Alphim nodded at this. Cetus might be bustling, but it was still small. Something like a group disappearing on the plains was big news.  
“Well, Konzu found out they were nabbed by a bunch of Grineer and sent some Tenno out to get them, and they just got back!” Meti basically yelled that last part.

Nikta’s breath caught for a second. An event like this didn’t happen often. They’d be able to see the group return with their Tenno saviors. Depending on who was in the foraging party, she and her friends may be able to badger them to tell the story of the rescue and what feats the Tenno performed. Alphim seemed to have the same thought, and grinned at Nikta, “Beat you there!” And he was off running.

Nikta started dashing just as Meti yelled an indignant “Hey!” Nikta grabbed him by the arm, almost yanking him off his feet. “C’mon, don’t make me lose this!” 

A crowd had gathered by the giant double gates of Cetus when the children arrived. Alphim was in front for the entire run, and reached Crae at the edge of the crowd well before Nikta. Alphim stopped suddenly, crossed his arms and greeted Crae. Nikta and Meti caught up quickly and joined the other two.

“Glad you could make it. I was worried for a minute.” Alphim tried to seem nonchalant even as he took heavy gasps of air. Nikta kicked at his legs, her face contorted in frustration.

“I’m pretty sure I won the race. You got here first, but I was running for two.” She released Meti’s arm, and Meti bent over wheezing. His face was bright red from the run. Nikta probably would have felt bad for him if she weren’t so distracted.

“They aren’t through yet, are they?” There was a slight quiver in her voice.

Crae shook his head. “Nope, they just arrived when I sent Meti to grab you guys. I just heard the outer gate slam.”

Cetus had two gates to the plains of Eidolon as an extra defensive measure. She’d heard them compared to an airlock on a spaceship but Nikta knew next to nothing about space travel so she didn’t know if this was a good comparison. The design made sense to her at least; they could let people through one gate going either direction, close it and open the second. This way, people could enter and leave the plains without accidentally letting in any wildlife or invaders.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go!” Nikta dove into the crowd, pushing her way past the adults. She was small enough to slip through without having to bother many people. Eventually she reached the front of the crowd, lined up on either side of the gate. Meti and Crae joined her, though Alphim took longer to reach the front. He was taller than the other three and had to work more to make his way through.

Nikta shot him a sarcastic look. “Glad you could make it, I was worried for a minute.” This got a snort from Crae and a dirty look from Alphim. Alphim was just about to make a retort with there was a loud clank and the inner gates began to shudder. All four of the children held their breath as the gates slowly parted to reveal a half dozen disheveled men and women flanked by four Tenno. The crowd broke into applause as the group stepped through the gates of the city. The salvaging party looked immensely relieved to be home, and a few of the members broke into tears upon seeing loved ones in the crowd. The accompanying Tenno remained stoic as always.

Nikta surveyed the faces of the survivors. They were haggard, and would be in need of medical assistance and a good meal. The men’s faces were unshaven, and every member had dark bags hanging under their eyes. There were a few members with splints on an arm or leg, and one person had a bandage wrapped around his head with a large red spot in the center. Thankfully that seemed to be the worst of it and the red spot didn’t seem to be growing any. No one looked to be on death’s door, so Nikta didn’t need to feel guilty about immediately looking for the Tenno. 

She recognized an Excalibur frame at the front, possibly the most common kind of Warframe. This one wasn’t adorned with any armor or a syndana. There was an Ivara crouched to one side of the group, creeping along in her signature walk. Nikta had heard Ivaras could turn invisible at will, and it wouldn’t surprise her. They always looked like they were trying to avoid detection, even in the city.

Meti jumped a little and Nikta followed his eyes to see Meti’s favorite frame was among the party. The Rhino came trundling through the gates with chains lashed across its chest. As it drew closer Nikta saw that the Rhino was pulling a makeshift sled, stacked high with salvage from the plains. Chunks of sturdy metal for building and broken machinery to be refurbished and sold. Nikta was impressed and it seemed that most of the Ostron felt the same as a cheer went up as the sled pulled into view. Not only had the Tenno rescued their citizens, they’d also taken the time to bring back the items the salvagers had risked their lives to get.

Nikta applauded along with the rest of the crowd and felt a rush of pride. The Tenno were helping her people. They weren’t just defending the Ostron along with the rest of the system, they were actively helping them. It made Nikta feel important, like she and her entire settlement were much bigger than the little plot of land they stood on.

Nikta was about to say something to that extent when Alphim hit her shoulder and pointed. Rather than protest, Nikta followed his gaze and saw a tall figure on the other side of the salvage party. Alphim had apparently alerted the others to this figure as all four children shared a look of surprise and curiosity. Walking with the party was a Wukong frame. These were incredibly rare; no one really knew what a Wukong could do. Nikta assumed they required hard-to-get parts; not many Tenno could gather the materials to craft them. Crae scoffed at the frame and said they never saw any Wukong because they were “just plain bad.” The thought of a bad Warframe didn’t make sense to Nikta, and this had become an ongoing fight.

The four children silently coordinated and slipped back into the crowd. They would stalk the Wukong for now, learning what they could. When the salvagers were feeling better they’d pester them for stories so they could learn exactly what happened.

The monkey frame was one of the few they didn’t know well. The children of Cetus knew as much as they did because they would interrogate anyone rescued from the plains and try to get descriptions of the abilities of the Tenno. This was where they heard stories of Ember raining flames from the sky or Mesa’s sharpshooting skills. This had been going on for many years now, and Hakim had told Nikta stories about investigating the Tenno when he was young. If Nikta and the others could crack the mystery of Wukong, they’d be heroes to the other children.

Distracted by this thought, Nikta failed to avoid the wrinkled hand that reached out and grabbed her arm in an iron grip.

“Nikta, I was hoping to speak with you. Do you have a moment?” Nikta looked up at the friendly face of Konzu, the chief of Ostron and the unofficial liaison between Cetus and the Tenno. She swallowed and nodded, allowing Konzu to lead her away. She knew better than to deny Konzu, he was fiercely protective of the Ostron. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Konzu led Nikta toward the now-deserted stalls. Her mind raced to guess why Konzu needed her. She hadn’t done anything bad recently… Suddenly her heart sank. Maybe Hok had gone to Konzu about her stealing a Zaw. Or worse, what if the Zaw was actually for a Tenno and they didn’t want it anymore! Nikta might have ruined a sale, ruined a weapon. Maybe they’d throw her out of Cetus for this.

By time Nikta and Konzu came to the edge of the stalls she was in a cold sweat. Her arm felt clammy in Konzu’s hand, and she was light headed and shaky. Konzu sat Nikta down on a crate near a stall and then pulled one up opposite her. Nikta’s fear must have been palpable as Konzu gently patted her knee.

“Don’t worry, dear, you aren’t in trouble. I just wanted to talk to you about your brother.”

Nikta’s the world rushed back into focus. Hakim was well known among the Ostron, and many people would check in on him to make sure he was doing okay.

Konzu grabbed a couple of oranges from the stall they were at, handed one to Nikta and began to peel his own. “Did your brother mention having any visitors recently?”

Nikta thought about this as she peeled her own fruit. Evidently Konzu hadn’t heard about Nikta crashing the discussion. Nikta looked Konzu up and down bet he wasn’t giving anything away. He just sat there, calmly peeling his orange. Konzu was short, and a little hunched from his old age. The chief usually had a placid face, and Nikta always thought that he looked more like a wrinkled child than an adult. Even now Nikta could feel his warm and inviting gaze, which made her feel like she could tell the old man anything. However, he was the Chief of the Ostron, and it was his duty to protect his people. As kind as he was, Nikta couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

Hakim hadn’t spoken about their visitor at all, despite Nikta’s questions. If Konzu knew what was going on, she might be able to get some details from him. “Do you mean the guy from Lotus?” Nikta pulled a slice from the orange and began to suck on it, staring intently at Konzu all the while.

Konzu looked surprised for a second, then smiled. “Yes, the man from Lotus.” He said Lotus like Nikta had somehow pronounced it wrong. She frowned at this.

“I don’t know, he didn’t tell me anything, just that it happened. Why?”

“Well….” Konzu stared off thoughtfully for a moment before continuing. “That man has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Hakim, and I just wanted to know if he took it.”

“Oh…” Nikta stared down at the orange slices in her hands, and felt her body deflate just a little.

“I was thinking maybe you could encourage him to take Baro, the man from the Lotus, up on his offer.” Konzu looked at Nikta expectantly. “It would be good for Cetus if he does so. At least I believe so.” Konzu popped a slice of orange into his mouth and chewed on it while not quite looking at Nikta.

Nikta stared at Konzu, the orange hanging forgotten in her hands. “What is it that I’m telling him to do?” Nikta leaned forward and looked up into Konzu’s face.

Konzu returned Nikta’s look before averting his eyes. He reached up and scratched the stubble on his head before speaking hesitantly. “Well, I’m not really at liberty to say. We’ll just say this it’s a very important job and Hakim may be the rare man who can do...”

“No.” Nikta responded before Konzu finished his sentence. Her voice was flat and final.

“Excuse me?”

“I said no. I’m not telling my brother to do something if I don’t know what it is. If you want to go ahead, you know where he is.” There was a slight squishing sound and Nikta’s hands suddenly felt wet and sticky. Nikta opened her fingers and let the mangled fruit fall from her fingers. Juice and little bits of pulp slid down her hands and she shook them off.

Konzu’s face darkened and he sat up straighter, glaring at Nikta, who was beginning to regret talking back. “Now listen here, this is…” But Konzu never had a chance to finish.

“The hell do you think you’re doing, Konzu?” Nikta turned to see Hok striding towards them like an oncoming tide.

Konzu stood quickly and seemed to trip over his tongue. “Hok, I didn’t realize... I mean not that it would matter but … what are you doing here?” Nikta had never seen Konzu shaken before. The fact that Hok was managing to intimidate him only made the weaponsmith scarier in her eyes.

“I’m here cuz I saw you leading that girl away from the crowd. I should’ve known you’d be putting pressure on her.” Hok had come up behind Nikta at this point and placed his hand on her shoulder. It was a protective gesture, but the effect was somewhat ruined by Hok’s large belly which did it’s best to push her away from him.

“I was doing no such thing, I was simply gleaning information abou--” 

“Don’t!” Hok’s voice was a throaty growl that caused Konzu to shut his mouth, although it didn’t stop the older man from glaring daggers. Hok came around and knelt in front of Nikta. Her hand was dwarfed as he took it in his huge palms, and Nikta was suddenly very conscious of the stickiness that covered her fingers, but Hok acted like they were perfectly clean.

“Nikta, look at me for a second.” Hok reached out with his other hand and tilted Nikta’s face up so she was looking at Hok rather than at her lap. His hands were rough and calloused with deep grooves and scars from years working over the forge. His face was the same; small burn marks caused by errant sparks peppered his nose like freckles, and his skin had a permanent tan from the heat. Hok’s eyes looked caring, almost sad, as he spoke. “I want you to ignore this old fool.” There was an indignant sound from behind Hok, but he ignored it. “Your brother did get an impressive offer, but it’s his choice to make. He may ask you to help make it, but don’t push him, especially not to further the agenda of an adult that thinks he knows better than you.” Hok’s eyes shifted to the side, as if he hadn’t made it absolutely clear who the fool was already.

Nikta nodded numbly at this. Hok and Konzu were both esteemed members of the Ostron, and both worked with the Tenno. It was no secret the two didn’t always see eye to eye, but they always seemed to be able to get along out of mutual respect for each other’s love of the people. Nikta had never seen the two so openly angry with each other, and here she was caught in the middle. For a moment Nikta saw herself caught between two boulders rolling toward her, and their inevitable collision. The thought made her feel claustrophobic.

Hok stood and ruffled Nikta’s hair. “Now, run along. I think I saw your buddies out spying on the Wukong frame that was with the rescue party.” Hok seemed amused by the thought for some reason. “You shouldn’t have any trouble finding them really.”

Nikta slid off the crate and did a sort of bow-nod at the two elders before running out into the slowly filling stalls. She didn’t stop to look behind her, but if she had, she would have seen the two men watching her. They did not turn to address each other until Nikta was safely out of earshot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikta didn’t look for her friends. They’d ask her where she was, and then she’d start explaining, and she didn’t know if she’d be able to stop. Nikta wasn’t ready for that. Instead, Nikta took the long way home, skirting the edge of the Ostron village. She scuffed her feet through the dirt and swung her foot at any rock or stick that crossed her path. This was her reminder that she was only 10, a child and unimportant. You had to grow up fast to survive life on Earth, but Nikta could only grow so fast.

Something was up. Her infirm brother was getting visits from important merchants, and Konzu was trying to sway his decision through Nikta and she still didn’t know what was going on. She could hear the blood coursing through her ears as she stewed. No one was going to tell her what was going on even though it was her brother that everyone was concerned about. She didn’t know what was going to happen to him, but his condition had been essentially hidden from the outside world so he wouldn’t be tested on by the Corpus, or even worse the Grineer. Yet here they were, with an outsider visiting her brother, telling him how he would bring danger to Cetus.

Nikta pulled her leg back to take a kick at another piece of wood in her path but hesitated. Instead, she set her foot back down and bent to pick up the wood. It was a chunk of yellowish wood probably about a foot long and about half of that in diameter. It was in fairly good shape too, there was a little bit of dry rot, but it sounded solid when Nikta banged it against a rock. Nikta looked at it thoughtfully for a moment then started running home. To anyone else it would look like she’d had an abrupt change of mood, but internally Nikta was calculating how to best tie her brother to Cetus, and to her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hakim was up when Nikta made it home. He’d come out of his room and was whistling in front of the fire. Nikta could tell he was having a good day because he’d taken the time to pull out his whittling knife and was working away at a small chunk of wood. Hakim stopped and looked up as Nikta came in.

“Hey there, kid. I heard there was a rescue operation today. Did you get a chance to see the Tenno?”

“Yes, they had a bunch of common ones, but there was a Wukong too!” Nikta’s excitment began to bubble out. Gone was the apprehension from earlier in the day, now replaced with the excitement that came with a new toy.

Hakim raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Really? A Wukong? I don’t think I ever saw many of those.” Hakim’s generation was the first to really become fascinated with the Tenno, and he was always happy to hear Nikta talk about the latest discoveries and theories she and her friends came up with. 

“Yeah, I went to follow him but…” Nikta hesitated for a moment, “but I lost him.”

“Oh well, next time.” Hakim smiled at Nikta as his fingers manipulated his carving without looking down. Nikta was always impressed by Hakim’s skill with wood, and not just because he was her brother.

She’d heard people talk in the village before and Nikta had gathered that Hakim was considered a bit of a prodigy with wood. He’d always had an interest in carving as a child, and had honed his skills as he was forced to take more and more bed rest. It wasn’t uncommon for Nikta to come home to find one of the Ostron there, either requesting or picking up some little trinket or another. It was no surprise either, Hakim could make intricately detailed carvings in a short amount of time.

“What are you working on?” Nikta tried to sound unassuming as she asked this.

“Hmmm? Oh, nothing really, just keeping my fingers hot.” Hakim paused his whittling to lift the wood to his lips and blow it off. Nikta saw that the wood didn’t have a particular shape to it, and was shaping up to be just a complex network of swirling patterns. “Why do you ask?” Hakim’s eyes drifted to the yellow wood not quite concealed behind Nikta’s back.

“Wellllll, you’d mentioned that you’d carve me a figurine of my choice for my birthday. I was thinking that maybe you could do a Nyx for me?” Nikta extended the wood to Hakim who took it, and began turning it in his hands.

“Yes, I think I can do that.” He lifted the wood to his ear and rapped on it with his knuckles. “This will be a pretty good chunk for a figurine. I’ll start roughing it out tonight.” Nikta assured Hakim that he could take his time on the piece before starting on dinner for the two. She was looking forward to a peaceful evening with her brother. Unfortunately Nikta wouldn’t be getting what she wanted.


	4. Chapter 4

Nikta and Hakim spent the evening sitting quietly by the fire. Hakim was roughing out the figurine, steadily covering himself in wood shavings in the process. He was lying on a blanket and would periodically scoop a handful of shavings off his outstretched legs and throw them into the fire. Nikta was doing her best to focus on a data slate in front of her. School would be starting soon, and she needed to finish her homework from over the break; it was not going well. 

Eventually, Nikta shoved the slate away in frustration. “Why do we have to learn this crap again?”

Hakim grinned. “Which crap?”

Nikta screwed up her face and stuck out her tongue. “Long division. I can plug this into any slate, even a simple one, and it will give me the answer in seconds. Why can’t I just do that?”

Hakim shook his head. “You know why, and if not, your teacher isn’t doing her job.”

Nikta groaned, and recited a line any child of Cetus had heard again and again. “The fall proved that technology can fail. We use what we can, when we can, but the Ostron must be prepared to survive on their wits alone if they wish to thrive. Yeah, yeah, alright.” Nikta rolled her eyes but picked up the slate once more.

A comfortable silence fell and the siblings remained like this for some time. Nikta didn’t notice when Hakim suddenly stopped whittling. After a minute, he hissed to get Nikta’s attention. 

“Nikta,” Hakim’s voice was a harsh whisper. “Nikta, I need you to take your slate and go to your room.”

Nikta looked up and saw panic on Hakim’s normally-serene face. She opened her mouth to ask why, but Hakim cut her off.

“Don’t argue. Go to your room, get in your bed, don’t make any sounds, and don’t turn on any lights.” Hakim looked at Nikta but she’d frozen, unsure of what to do despite his instructions. “Now!” That spurred Nikta to action and she scrambled into her room, closing the curtain behind her. Nikta shut the data slate down and jumped under her covers without changing into her nightclothes. 

Nikta lay still for what felt like forever and listened intently. Soon she heard it: the quiet whirring of MOAs walking the streets of Cetus.

At first Nikta thought Baro, that jerk merchant, had returned, but it was a different voice that spoke. “Hello, hello, hello. Hakim, yes?” This was the cracking voice of a young man without the experience of Baro. Hakim must have nodded because the voice continued after a brief pause. “Good, good. My name is Derf Anyo, are you familiar? No? Then you may know my father, Nef Anyo.”

Nef Anyo was a name even Nikta recognized, although only second hand. Nef Anyo was a high ranking Corpus elite, and the head of the Corpus internment colony of Fortuna. She had heard he was renowned for his cunning and cruelty.

Derf continued, “The Board of Directors got wind of your, erm … condition and felt that we should do something for you. Ah, ah, let me finish. The Corpus are leaders in technology and are always looking to improve our capabilities. Unfortunately, we don’t know much about your condition, but by working together we may not only be able to cure you of the infestation, but help countless others.” This guy was talking way to fast. Nikta wasn’t old enough to work yet, but the Ostron were born and raised as traders. Even a ten-year-old could recognize the signs of someone nervous about a deal.

There was a silence for a long time, and Nikta thought she heard someone shift uncomfortably in the front room. Finally Hakim spoke, “I’m sorry, what?”

Derf was silent for a moment before continuing hesitantly. “Well, the Corpus, that is to say, my, or rather our contacts heard of your state, so I … we thought we may be able to help you.”

“Hold on. Who are you saying can help me; the Corpus, the Board of Directors, or you on your own?” Nikta buried her head in her pillow to suppress a giggle. She’d heard that tone plenty of times, usually when Hakim caught her in a lie.

“I thought that, or, well, more accurately…” The (alleged) Corpus representative sounded stymied by Hakim’s response. Nikta could envision Hakim’s lifted eyebrow as he gently coaxed the truth out of his victim. “So we’ve been looking for a way to counteract the Infestation for a long time. Obviously you have something that neuters its ability to spread. Genetics maybe? Do you know if your parents had any exposure to the Infestation?” There was silence before Derf continued, “That’s too bad. Regardless the Corpus would love to work with you to synthesize a cure, and I thought I should get your consent before I told the Board.”

“So let me make sure I have this straight. You heard about my condition. The Corpus want to counteract technocytes--don’t look surprised, I know what I have. The Corpus wants to counteract the technocytes and you want to impress the Board of Directors. You came to me on your own in hopes that I would volunteer myself to this cause.”

“Uuuuuuuh….” The more Nikta thought about it, the more Derf sounded like a stupid name. It seemed fitting.

“I’m not rejecting the offer, but I need to think about it. Would that be okay?” Nikta’s eyes widened in shock. Hakim couldn’t actually be considering giving himself over to the Corpus, could he?

“Yes! Of Course!” Derf Anyo sounded a little too excited. “Take as long as you want!” Derf’s attitude quickly shifted to coy as he continued. “I’ll only be near Earth for a few more days. Maybe I can check with you in, saaaay, two days? I don’t want you to miss an opportunity like this.”

“Do I have as long as I want or two days?”

“Two days. Sound good?”

Hakim didn’t speak but Derf’s response revealed his silent agreement. “Perfect, I’ll be back in two days! I hope you have good news for me then.” Nikta desperately wanted to peek through the curtains to see just what this Derf Anyo looked like, but fear of what might happen if she was discovered stopped her.

Derf spoke once more before he left. “Oh, I also wanted to ask about your ... sister? How old is she?”

“I don’t have a sister,” Hakim snapped.

“No? I was told there is a younger girl who lives here as well, who exactly is she?”

“She’s just a village girl that helps me out sometimes. She’ll spend the night when my symptoms are particularly bad, but she just helps me because our parents knew each other.” 

“Interesting…. I’d heard she spends a lot of time here, are you sure she isn’t related somehow?”

“Like I said, she stays over when I have bad nights; and I haven’t had many good ones lately.”

“Right, sorry, sorry. Well, maybe we can turn your nights around. I’ll see you in two days. I really hope that you consider this option, it could really help.” Nikta heard the Corpus proxies leaving, and she assumed they were following Derf but she didn’t dare leave her room.

It was almost an hour before Hakim called Nikta to come out. The girl quietly crept through the doorway, trying to remain as small as possible. She found Hakim sitting with a pair of sealed envelopes.

“Nikta, I need you to take these to Konzu and Hok, quickly.” Hakim’s brow was furrowed in concern, and his voice was completely flat. Nikta didn’t dare ask any questions. “Don’t be sneaky but don’t draw attention to yourself either.”

Nikta nodded. “What about you?”

Hakim looked at Nikta and for a moment gave a forced laugh. “What? Are you going to fight off a horde of Corpus proxies for me?” Hakim playfully smacked the side of Nikta’s head. “Don’t be silly, I’ll be fine. You didn’t see him but that Derf guy looked like an idiot. There’s no threat to us, and there won’t be for another couple days.”

Nikta took the letters and put on her sandals. She turned and looked at Hakim before she left. “I am your sister, right?” 

Hakim nodded at her, “Yes, you are my sister.”

“Okay.” Nikta was at the door and her voice was nothing more than a whisper. She quickly turned and ran out of the house, doing her best to look like she was out playing in the bright light of Lua.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Konzu took his letter and dismissed Nikta after reading it, telling her he would be by to see Hakim soon. Nikta fully expected Hok to send her away after reading the letter as well. Instead, the blacksmith told her to wait and shut the door. He emerged a few minutes later carrying a cloth-wrapped package almost as large as Nikta and escorted the girl home.

Nikta could tell Hakim had been crying when they entered the house. Tears glistened on the right side of his face and dark streaks ran down the left; a painful sign that his infection couldn’t even let him cry in peace. Hok went and knelt down by Hakim. Nikta caught a glimpse of what was in his package as he set it down. The cloth was wrapped tight, but Nikta saw serrated teeth just barely breaking through the cloth on one edge. Whatever was going on, Hok had thought it necessary to bring a Zaw with him.

“Nikta, why don’t you put a kettle on and get some tea going.” Hok’s voice was gentle. Nikta pulled a dented kettle from it’s hook on the wall and ran outside to fill it from the pump. Soon enough the kettle sat over the fire as steam was billowed from the spout. She then pulled three cups from a cupboard set along the wall of the house. After the tea was ready, the blacksmith cleared his throat to get her attention. Nikta was afraid she knew why; she’d put out three cups as an excuse to stay up and listen to the conversation. Instead of admonishing her though, Hok told Nikta to “go get one more. We’ve got another visitor coming tonight.”

Nikta hurried to grab another cup from the cupboard. She’d just poured tea into the four cups when Konzu entered. The old man was leaning heavily on his stick and breathing hard.

“I sent the message … we should … hear back … by the morning.” Konzu took a few deep breaths and looked at Hok. He began to open his mouth but the larger man held up his hands.

“Don’t, Konzu.” Hok let his hands fall to his lap as he sat cross legged on the ground. “You and I don’t always see eye to eye on what we think is best, but I do know how you operate. You aren’t a schemer and this situation isn’t your fault.” Hok took a sip of tea and gestured to a spot across the fire from him. “For now, we can only play the hand we were dealt. We’ll have plenty of time to yell at each other later.”

Nikta’s mind screamed questions as she stood to bring Konzu his tea. Who was the Lotus, did Konzu really start all of this, and most importantly, what was going to happen to her and Hakim? Nikta knew better than to ask. She had turned to go sit down when Konzu cleared his throat, causing Nikta to wince.

“Do we want a fly on the wall?” Nikta could feel the elder’s eyes boring into her back. “She could always stay at my home tonight. I’m sure Saya would be happy to have the company.”

Hok shook his head and patted the ground next to him with his huge hand. “Nah, let the girl stay. It’s late, and I saw her running around most of the day.” Hok grinned at Nikta. “If she can stay awake she earned it.”

Konzu gave a grunt of displeasure as Nikta went to sit by Hok, but made no argument. Nikta thanked Hok as he handed her a full teacup. She took a deep sip of the tea and nearly spit it out. She must have steeped it too long during the commotion, because the tea had a nasty bite to it. The roots and leaves she used were a little bitter, but not like this. No one else commented though, and Nikta opted to sip her tea quietly instead of bringing up her mistake and giving Konzu another reason to banish her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikta sat quietly for almost an hour while her brother repeated the story of the prior visits for Hok and Konzu. Hakim said little about the contents of the conversation with Baro, much to Nikta’s dismay. Nikta was briefly the center of attention when Hakim told the story of her entrance during Baro’s visit. Hok laughed heartily, and even Konzu, who sat listening to this with his mouth open in shocked horror, had a little twinkle in his eye by the end.

As Hakim reached the end of the stories, Nikta was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. The steam rising off the teacup in her hands was so soothing, and Nikta just wanted to sleep. However, she did her best to remain alert as Konzu began to speak.

“Hmmmm … I think the first question we need to answer is what kind of retaliation we’ll have to deal with if you aren’t delivered to the Corpus. And don’t you start on me!” Konzu snapped as Hok opened his mouth to say something. “I want to protect Hakim just as much as you, but we have to think of the Ostron as a whole when making a decision like this.”

Nikta’s mouth hung open. Was Konzu suggesting they sell her brother out? Nikta didn’t know what to say. Not that she had been asked her opinion.

“Actually, I was about to say that we don’t have to fear any retaliation.” Hok crossed his arms and stared down Konzu. “It’s my understanding that Derf is seen as something of a failure, even by his father. I don’t doubt Derf Anyo will continue to hound Cetus if he can’t find Hakim, but it sounds like he didn’t tell anyone else about his mission. Derf Anyo desperately needs a success, and he sure as hell won’t be revealing his failures to anyone.”

“You’re sure of this?” At this point it was a conversation between Hok and Konzu. Nikta didn’t mind--she hadn’t said anything this entire time--but she felt bad for her brother. It occurred to her that Hakim might not have as much say in what happens as she thought he would. Some of the resentment at his secrecy earlier began to dissipate. She could forgive her brother for events out of his control. Depending on the outcome, she was not planning to forgive those who were in control...

“I learned this from … my business partner in Fortuna. I can always put you two in contact if you’d like.” Hok gave a wry, almost angry smile as he said this.

Konzu flinched at this and absently began to turn his empty teacup in his hands. It seemed to Nikta that he would rather do anything but meet with Hok’s business partners. “No, I think not. The fact that an Ostron weaponsmith is associated with some ill advised resistance would be bad enough if discovered. I’d rather not risk myself becoming involved as well.” Hok’s eyes narrowed as Konzu said this. The two had been amicable this entire evening, but within seconds there was a palpable sense of hostility.

An uncomfortable silence followed during which Nikta yawned. She was unbearably tired at this point. It wouldn’t matter if she shut her eyes for just a short while, would it?

Suddenly Nikta heard her brother speak as if from underwater. “Damn, I’m surprised. Nikta’s usually pretty hard to dissuade when she wants something. I completely expected her to be up all night.”

Nikta felt Hok lean forward and realized that she was leaning her head on one of his giant arms. Nikta didn’t hear the blacksmith’s voice, so much as feel as it rumbled through her. “Like I said, she was outside playing all day, and it’s well past midnight now. I figured she’d fall asleep eventually.” Hok gently removed Nikta from his arm, and laid her on the ground. Above her, Nikta heard a soft metallic rustle. It sounded like someone was unscrewing the lid of a small flask. There was a soft gurgling sound and Hok went on. “And I maybe helped things along a little bit. I may not have kids myself, but I learned a trick or two from Momma Hok all the same.”

There was a stunned silence before Hakim’s indignant voice floated past. “Did you spike my sister’s drink?!”

The world shook as Hok laughed. Konzu’s voice was the last thing she heard before she fell into a deep slumber. “Heh, that sure explains a lot.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikta slept fitfully, and only remembered small snippets of the nights deliberations.

“ … I like the Tenno well enough, but we can’t trust the Lotus. Baro is unmistakable. She sent him to be seen so we’d feel the pressure … ”

“ … I don’t know, we can’t know if Nikta inherited the same resistances without a genetic test … ”

“ … don’t really want to leave … ”

There was only one moment where Nikta woke most of the way. She’d been sleeping soundly when Hok’s voice startled her awake. Nikta open her eyes just enough to blurily make out Hok yelling across the fire. Both Konzu and Hakim were making silent, pleading motions for Hok to calm down.

“Boy, think about what you’re asking. You want us to break a little girl’s heart for you. I have to draw the line somewhere, and that’s it. Tell her the truth.”

There was a long pause then Hakim spoke, “I can’t do that. I just can’t.” It sounded like he was close to crying. “I may not be able to go if I do.”

“I’ll talk to Nikta, don’t worry.” Konzu’s voice was calm and reassuring.

“You, old man? Oh that’s rich, have the old fart with the tact of a tubeman do it.”

“Excuse me?”

Nikta wanted to comfort Hakim but sleep was beckoning her again. Nikta drifted off as, once again, the elders began throwing insults at each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Someone had moved Nikta to her bed while she was sleeping and it was there she woke with a pounding headache. Nikta groggily pulled herself out of bed. She felt a little sick to her stomach and for a moment she was worried she may throw up. She stood still without moving until the feeling subsided. Nikta pulled the curtain at the entrance of her room to the side and stepped out. Hakim was already up and was cooking eggs over the fire. He held a glass of water out for Nikta as she came over. Nikta took it but wasn’t convinced she wanted it in her stomach.

“What are you doing? I can finish making breakfast.”

Hakim laughed. “I don’t think you are in any position to make breakfast.” He pointed at the glass in Nikta’s hand and then to a pitcher of water sitting nearby. “Drink, it will help.”

Nikta drank the entire glass at her brothers prodding, but took her time on the second. “I feel horrible.”

Hakim gave a pained laugh. “Yeah, congratulations on your first hangover. I wouldn’t drink anything Hok gives you in the future if I were you.”

Nikta put her hand to her temple and shut her eyes. “This is a hangover? Like from alcohol? Why would you drink this?!”

Hakim sounded amused at Nikta’s opinion. “Yeah, I never got it either. Of course, my hangovers are a little more... puss-filled than most.” 

“Ewwwww!”

Hakim laughed, pleased that he’d successfully grossed out his normally unflappable little sister. “Here, I’m making you some eggs and bread, it’ll help you feel better.” Nikta opened her eyes and Hakim gestured to a spot beside him. “Come on. I have something I need to tell you.” Hakim’s attitude was jovial but Nikta could sense the tension in his voice.

So Nikta sat, not knowing if she was ready for what was coming.


	5. Chapter 5

“Hakim’s leaving? Where’s he going?!” Meti stared at her, slack jawed.

“Not sure, some hiding place on the Plains but he can’t tell anyone where.” Nikta swung her foot at a pebble and listened to it ricochete down the slope below. Nikta, Alphim, Meti and Crae were gathered on one of the rocky outcroppings overlooking Cetus. They were just high enough to look over the roofs of the houses and glimpse the awnings covering the stalls of the market. She’d called them all there so she could share the news away from the rest of Cetus.

Nikta had spent the morning talking to her brother about his plans to go into hiding from the Corpus. Konzu had arrived part way through and Hakim told Nikta he needed to talk to the elder in private, specifically discouraging her from eavesdropping. Nikta knew when she was outplayed, and left without making too much of a fuss. She decided to round up her friends and tell them what was happening. She didn’t feel much like talking, but she decided it was better than being alone with her thoughts.

“He can’t tell me. Says it’s a secret and as few people as possible should know about it.” Nikta punted another stone and watched it pick up speed down the slope, twisting and spinning in the air before flying over the edge of a sharp drop and clattering to the ground below.

Meti’s eyes widened in shock.. “But who’s going to take care of his infection?”

“No clue!” Nikta swooped down and grabbed another stone and threw it as hard as she could. “I don’t know anything! Where he’s going, how he’s getting there, when he’s coming back!” Nikta’s voice was rising. “I just don’t know anything!” The last word came out as a screech rather than a shout. Nikta felt something warm on her face and realized she was crying. Quickly she lifted the collar of her shirt to dry her eyes. As she did so Nikta felt a supportive arm around her shoulders. Nikta stiffened, but she did not push away from the embrace.

“You’re okay. And your brother’s okay as well. Konzu and Hok are looking out for him. We can trust them to care for him.” Alphim patted Nikta’s back as he spoke. She could tell he wanted to comfort her, and did her best to forgive him for not understanding. Nikta broke from Alphim’s arms and stepped back, shaking her head.

“But I don’t think I can.” Nikta’s voice was bubbly as her nose filled with snot. “I think they’re lying to me.” Alphim looked quizzical. His father held a high status in the governorship of Cetus, and Alphim often had an overabundance of faith in the system. “They keep talking about all of these deals, and all of the danger that Hakim and I will be in.” Nikta sniffed. “And no one will look at me when they tell me what’s going to happen!” Nikta was yelling and stomping her feet now. Small clouds of dust bloomed up around her.

Alphim shot a pleading look at Crae. Alphim’s role was that of a calming presence between the four. He wasn’t emotionless by any means, but he shared more than a few traits with the cool, unyielding stone he had been raised around. Seeing his hesitancy, Nikta pressed her hands to her head and made a frustrated growl, before turning and stomping to the other end of the rock. It wasn’t much more than ten paces but the intention was there. The hot tears had given way to only heat. Nikta’s ears and cheeks were burning and she could feel blood pumping in her head. The remnants of this morning’s hangover throbbed beneath her temples.

“Alright, so what’s the plan?” Nikta looked over as Crae squatted down beside her. His arms were sitting on his knees, and he was looking out over the roofs of Cetus like a general surveying the field of battle before him. He looked up at Nikta, brushing a few stray strands of blonde hair from his eyes. “You’ve tried eavesdropping, that didn’t work. I don’t think we’ll be able to trick the information out of them. Maybe get it by force? We could probably take down Hok if we all ganged up on him.”

Nikta couldn’t help but give a small, half smile at the thought of the four of them trying to pin Hok. Crae smiled back at Nikta and handed her one of the handkerchiefs his mother insisted he always keep on him. Nikta nodded in thanks, but upon receiving it simply stood there twisting the cloth between her fingers. 

Crae went back to looking out over Cetus as he spoke. “Really I think our best bet is to follow them. Either that or find where Hakim is going before he’s moved.” Crae’s voice was uncharacteristically steady. “I heard from Rall, who heard from his brother, that there’s a hidden cave somewhere in Cetus. Not even Konzu knows where it is, only that it’s there. They may be taking Hakim there for now. Maybe if we … ”

“No.” Nikta’s voice was small. “No. I don’t want to.” 

Crae looked up at Nikta, surprised. “Really? Because … ” Crae slowly trailed off as fresh tears began to fall from Nikta’s eyes. The girl wiped her nose with her sleeve, having already forgotten about the square of cloth she held in that same hand.

“I think … I think … ” Nikta hesitated. What did she think? “I think that I just want to be angry ... and sad.”

Crae stood and turned to Nikta with his face twisted in confusion. “Huh? I mean, usually I want to do something when I’m mad.” This was indeed true. Nikta and Alphim had both restrained and distracted Crae so he wouldn’t do something exceptionally stupid numerous times.

Nikta nodded. “Yeah, I want to do something too.” Her voice was becoming progressively softer, and Crae actually had to move closer to hear her. “But more than anything I want Hakim to be okay. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do know if Hakim stays here, he won’t be okay.” Nikta looked into Crae’s eyes. “And I won’t be okay if he isn’t.”

Now it was Crae’s turn to look down. “Yeah, I guess.” A silence fell between the two, broken only by the wind. Finally Crae gave Nikta a half hearted hug and turned to walk away. Nikta hardly noticed, she was too deep in her own thoughts now. She didn’t see Crae go over to Alphim and Meti, or indicate that it was time to go. Eventually the three boys turned and left Nikta to survey Cetus alone.

After a time, Nikta sat down. She watched, in a detached way, as the stones darkened with tears before her. It took some time before the stones stopped changing color and Nikta realized that she had run out of tears to cry.

Nikta didn’t descend from her perch until late that afternoon. The sun wasn’t quite ready to set, but it was low enough that the crevasses created by the boulders and cliffs surrounding Cetus had been swallowed by darkness. On a happier day Nikta might have been found playing in the darkness. Skulking around in an attempt to ambush any unwary “Grineer” that hid in the shadows. Even now, Nikta could hear a group of children yelling in the distance as they argued over roles and rules in whatever game they were playing. But today Nikta chose to keep to herself, following the winding stone walls back to Cetus. Konzu had shown up part way through breakfast. It was late enough that Nikta expected their conversation was over and she could return home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner that evening was tense. Neither Nikta nor Hakim spoke until Hakim tried to give Nikta instructions for when he was gone, but Nikta responded in grunts and nods. Eventually, Hakim gave up and the two ate dinner in silence.

Afterward, the siblings sat next to the fire as they so often did, but without enjoyment. Hakim was half-heartedly whittling away at Nikta’s statue. His usual long, shallow strokes had been become more primitive. He made short, deep cuts that popped off chunks of wood, not the gentle curls that usually drifted down to cover his feet. Nikta had even less patience with her homework than usual. Her stylus tapped loudly on the data slate as she wrote. She finally gave up after the fifth time an answer didn’t register due to her messy handwriting. The data slate went skittering across the floor when she flung it aside, and Nikta had already retreated to her bed by time it came to rest on the far side of the room.

She lay awake for a long time, thinking about what she’d say to Hakim in the morning. She felt so nervous about making sure she said the right thing. Hakim would be leaving soon, and nobody knew for how long. However long it took for Cetus to become safe for him again. She wanted to find the words to say goodbye, but she was too exhausted right now.

A restless sleep the night before, and long days filled with strong emotions had worn Nikta down. Somewhere between sleep and wakefulness words came to Nikta, like remembering a dream.

“You want us to break a little girl’s heart for you .... Tell her the truth.”

These words took hold in Nikta’s mind, sowing doubt. The kind of doubt that is watered by dreams and blooms in the dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikta dreamt of her brother standing over her, propped up on his crutches as the light of Lua streamed through the open window. He bent to kiss her forehead and held her hand in his for a long time before turning to hobble out. 

Nikta woke to her pounding heart, scrambled up off her sleeping mat, and rushed to her brother’s room. Pushing aside the curtain, she found what she had feared. His bed was empty and his crutches were gone. He hadn’t taken anything else with him; his knife along with her rough piece of wood lay by the bedside in a pile of shavings.

This could be a sign that he’d be back. Hakim wouldn’t leave his carving materials behind. And he had promised her he would finish a special figure for her. But even as she thought this, Nikta’s heart sank. Everyone had been hiding this from her; Hakim had left in the middle of the night, not the morning. Nikta suspected he wouldn’t be returning. Shaking, Nikta grabbed Hakim’s knife and half-finished carving, then ran out the door. 

Nikta’s nightshirt flapped in the wind behind her. She ran as though possessed, as if some white spectre was pursuing her through the streets of Cetus. Her bare feet slapped against dust and stone as she ran. Nikta felt thorns and rocks cutting the soles of her feet. It didn’t matter though. None of it would matter if Hakim had left.

Nikta felt as if her world were falling apart. Who would sing to her at night when she was scared? Who would tell her stories of the Tenno and their great battles with the Corpus and Grineer? Who would yell at her when she stole from the stands, or comfort her when her friends said hurtful things? Hakim couldn’t leave her. She wouldn’t allow it, even if it meant defying the Tenno themselves!

Nikta ran without thinking. There were many places her brother could have gone. The landing pad near the Tower of Unum, the gates to the plains of Eidolon, or he could have even scaled one of the hills near Cetus. Had she stopped and thought on where to go, Nikta would have been overwhelmed with emotion, and choices. Instead she forged ahead blindly, choosing the nearby landing pad as her first destination.

Nikta crested the ridge leading down to the shore and saw a Tenno ship hovering above the landing pad. Picking up speed, Nikta hurried down the slope, jumping across the path and bypassing the switchbacks that crisscrossed the hill. The last incline was steep and Nikta lost her balance in the process. She stumbled and the wood and knife went flying from her hands. Nikta dropped to her knees, and scrambled in the dirt, trying to find her precious items quickly. Someone was slowly approaching the landing pad. Her hands were trembling as she grabbed the wood and knife. Having recovered them, she ran to the pad at full tilt. A wail began to rise from her throat. It started low but soon her voice pierced the night sky, and the figure, Hakim, turned to watch her approach.

Nikta had imagined she’d be able to make an impassioned plea to her brother, convincing him of how important it was that he stayed in Cetus with her, and how she would be able to care for his condition as it worsened. But when Nikta reached Hakim, she dropped the items she’d so desperately retrieved just seconds earlier and dove into her brother’s arms. She beat her fists against Hakim’s chest, her cries of “No, no!” muffled as he wrapped his arms around her sobbing form.

Hakim’s embrace was loose for a moment as the shock of his sister’s unexpected appearance sank in, but after a moment of hesitation he drew her in close. Nikta’s struggling ceased, and soon she was hugging her brother back as she cried.

“Nikta … ” Hakim’s voice was low and soft in her ear. “Nikta, you need to go. You can’t be here.” 

Nikta shook her head against her brother’s chest and pulled back to look up at him. “No! You can’t go, you need to be here!” Her vision was blurry but she could tell Hakim was crying too. “You promised me a carving of a special Warframe! You promised that you would be here for ME!”

Hakim’s voice cracked as he spoke. “No Nikta, I need to go. This is only going to get worse. I know I’m not contagious, but I have my good days and bad days, and the bad days are happening more, and the good so much less often.”

“But I … ” Nikta opened her mouth to protest but Hakim silenced her by releasing her from his embrace, and grabbing her by the shoulders. Hakim struggled to get down on his knees, bringing himself to eye level with Nikta. He leaned heavily on her while bending his ever stiffening legs.

“I know. I know that you can care for me, and I know that you don’t see it as a burden. I know Nikta, because you are so much stronger than anyone I know.” Hakim took a shaky breath as he went on. “But Nikta, this is about more than just you, this is for me too. The infection acts like it does in me because of a very rare genetic condition. The condition also means that I can help the Tenno.” Tears began to fall from Hakim’s eyes in earnest. Seeing her brother like this made Nikta want to start crying again too, but he had been strong for her. She steadied herself and fixed her gaze on him, stoic as he spoke.

“I don’t want to feel like a burden, Nikta, and this is my chance. I don’t want to leave you, but what I’m going to go do … it’s my chance to help. I can help protect you and Cetus, and all of the Origin System. I can be kind and strong. I can be like you.”

Nikta’s voice caught in her throat. Her brother was her only family and she was so used to him being the one to chastise her when she misbehaved, or pick her up when she fell. She’d spent her life trying to live up to him, and here he was trying to live up to her. The thought was painful and liberating at the same time.

“O-o-okay.” Nikta’s voice shook. “You’ll be back though, right? You can give me my carving later.” Hakim looked down and let his hands drop. Nikta’s heart sank.

She could feel blood rushing to her head again, and was just about to crack when she felt a presence behind her. A gentle hand rested on her shoulder, and the presence spoke in a soft voice.

“You’re brother was going to make a carving for you?”

Nikta shrugged off the hand and turned around to look at this person who was interrupting them. Nikta expected one of the women from Cetus had followed her out to try and lure her away from her brother. Or maybe a rail agent who was representing the Tenno while taking her brother away had come to run interference. Whoever this was, she was no rail agent. Nikta had never seen anyone like the diminutive wraith who stood before her.


	6. Chapter 6

Nikta turned to find a young woman--no, a girl; with long blonde hair woven into a tight braid that fell over her shoulder. The girl couldn’t have been older than Hakim; she seemed closer to Alphim’s age, maybe a year or two older. She was wearing a tight-fitting suit. A zipper ran from her navel up to a hood that sat open on her shoulders, like some fanged plant waiting to close its mouth around her head. The suit did have some padding to it, but it was devoid of any adornments. Nikta saw no indication of where the girl was from. There were no Corpus logos or Grineer insignia. 

Nikta couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed for the girl. The suit clung to her figure, revealing just how weak she must be. She was tall, but thin, with no apparent muscle or fat on her frame. It seemed a miracle she was standing on her own, especially given how pale her narrow face was.

“That’s none of yo--” Nikta began to protest but Hakim straightened behind her, and protectively wrapped an arm around his sister.

“I can explain,” he began. “My sister managed to follow me out. She means nothing by it, she’s just upset that…” Hakim’s voice trailed off as the girl made a small, sad smile and for a moment Nikta worried that she had just cost her brother this opportunity. The mystery girl then held out her hands, revealing Hakim’s knife and the unfinished carving. The wooden figure sat mutely in her hand as if waiting to be given form and purpose again.

“He was going to carve this?”

Nikta nodded her head mutely. Despite her age and appearance, this person was holding herself with a kind of poise and grace that commanded respect.

The girl’s sad smile widened a little as she spoke. “He still can.”

Hakim cleared his throat. “I don’t know if that’s possible. The terms I agreed to with the Lotus--” He spoke with a firm, businesslike tone but stopped when the girl gave him a look as if he were a particularly slow-witted child.

“Do you want to finish the carving for her?”

“W-well yes but...”

“No buts. If you want to finish this, you can.”

Nikta felt Hakim’s arm tighten around her. “I was instructed by Konzu not to tr--” The girl rolled her eyes. It was a surreal interaction; the girl, maybe only slightly older than Nikta, was treating Hakim as though she were the adult.

“Konzu isn’t wrong.” The girl’s voice was airy, like a sigh as she spoke. “The Lotus is very powerful and should be both respected and feared. Be that as it may, she is not on the front lines; that would be me. You’ll finish the carving for your sister; the Lotus won’t deny something like this.” She gave a knowing smile as she said this. “Not that I’d let her anyway.”

Nikta turned to see her brother’s shocked face, and then looked back at the girl. Nikta didn’t know what the two were talking about. Who was the Lotus, and why would Konzu be afraid of her?

“Who are you?” Her voice was so quiet Nikta that was afraid the other girl wouldn’t hear her.

The girl’s smile became sad again. Slowly she walked up to Nikta, and bent forward to wipe some of the tears from her cheek. “You won’t see your brother again after tonight, and even if you did, you wouldn’t recognize him. I promise that you’ll get your carving. I know you may hate me now, but there will be a day when you get the last of your brother’s work. I hope on that day you’ll know he is safe.” 

The girl looked at Hakim. “Now, why don’t you and your brother finish your goodbyes.” Nikta nodded mutely. “I heard from your brother that Nyx is your favorite Warframe?” Nikta nodded again. “Tonight’s your lucky night then.” The girl stood and walked up the steps to the landing pad before disappearing into the shroud of darkness cast by the hovering liset.

Hakim bent down and gathered Nikta up in his arms and they began to cry again, together this time; they were no longer alone with the same pain they refused to share. Grief had replaced their earlier feelings of anger and resentment. And there was joy as well. Hakim was going to go become all Nikta knew he could be, and that deserved celebration.

Hakim broke the embrace first and held Nikta at arm’s length. “You be good, alright? No more stealing from the stalls. You’ll be on your own, but that means you won’t have to steal in order to support both of us.”

“Okay.”

“And be good to your friends, no fights.”

“Yes…”

“And keep Cetus safe.” Hakim gave Nikta’s hair a playful tussle.

Nikta puffed up her chest with pride and nodded. “I’ll protect Cetus while you go save the Tenno!”

Both brother and sister began to laugh at the thought of Hakim on his crutches in the midst of a battlefield, coming to the rescue of a Tenno.

Laughing and crying at the same time, neither noticed a dim flash of light and color under the liset, or the lithe form emerging from the shadows. It wasn’t until the tall figure stood over them that the siblings looked up into the curving helmet of a Nyx warframe.

Nikta gasped. She and her friends spent plenty of time chasing after the warframes that visited Cetus, spying on them from the bushes and rocks around the settlement, daring each other to run up and touch one. But none of them had ever ventured this close to a warframe. Not just because Konzu forbid it, but also out of a mixture of wonder and fear. It seemed sacrilegious to approach a warframe as if it were a regular human being. Yet now Nyx stood over her, so much more beautiful up close than she had ever imagined.

Nyx lacked the armor of other warframes, eschewing the thick chunks of metal that covered a frame such as Rhino or Atlas. Instead, Nyx opted for a thick padding that moved like cloth but could block a blade as easily as steel. This Nyx looked like she was wearing leather. The more pliable armor of her body suit was colored a deep brown. The thicker armor protecting her wrists, shoulders and legs was a deep red. Thin lines of luminous red flowed across the Nyx’s armor. It was not the deadly red often given off by weaponry, but an inviting one, like the dying coals of a fire pit welcoming a new dawn. 

Nikta couldn’t help herself. She reached out with a shaking hand and touched a finger to one of the glowing lines. They had an indescribable quality to them. The energy didn’t arc like electricity, or burn like fire; there was no temperature to them aside from the subtle warmth of Nyx’s armor. As Nikta touched the line of energy there was a sensation in her finger that she couldn’t describe. It didn’t feel good but it wasn’t necessarily painful. It was like a tingle of absence. Nikta’s finger was full of static, somehow obscured from her mind. She could still control it if she focused, but it didn’t feel like her finger anymore.

Slowly Nikta traced her finger up Nyx’s side. As she dragged her finger along the lines of power the loss of feeling got more intense. It didn’t spread, but she became less and less able to find her finger through the haze that clouded it out of her mind. She only stopped when her knuckle brushed against the curvature of Nyx’s breast. Nikta snatched her hand back, mortified. She had just touched a Tenno, a warrior-poet of indescribable power, as though she were some tamed Kuaka. 

The Nyx said nothing in response to Nikta’s irreverence. Instead the warframe reached out to gently place a hand under Nikta’s chin and tilted her head up so she was looking into the warframe’s helmet. In the reflective metal of the helmet, Nikta saw a distorted vision of her own face. The image resembled a much older, wiser version of herself. Nitka’s chin tingled at the touch of Nyx’s fingers and she felt the same static as when she had touched the energy lacing Nyx’s suit. Nyx’s hands were soft and warm, even through the static, and the reflection in her helmet was expanding. Slowly the static built up, and Nikta could feel her senses retreating to the periphery. Slowly Nikta reached out and touched Nyx once more. This was her last chance to be this close to a warframe. 

She grasped warm, soft material, not knowing where or even what she was touching but that didn’t matter anymore. The reflection in Nyx’s helmet was becoming the world. Everything resided in the silent scene looking back at her. Slowly but willingly Nikta pitched herself forward into the static and let the warm nothingness embrace her mind.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikta woke crying the next morning without understanding why. Slowly she began to remember the events of the night before. It was like a dream; she could remember the general content but anytime she tried to focus on one particular event it slipped through her grasp. She knew her had brother left, knew she met a blonde girl and saw Nyx, but the order seemed all wrong. She couldn’t place any details. There were only two things she knew for sure: Hakim was gone, and he would be able to finish his carving. She would know he was safe once she had the statue.

As the morning wore on it became obvious to Nikta that she was the last person to learn of her brother’s decision. Residents of the settlement filtered by her house to make sure she was okay. Both Meti’s and Crae’s mother brought Nikta meals for the day. She thanked both of them but it felt hollow. A meal didn’t replace her brother, and both times the women spent the visit looking at her like she was some broken bird who would never recover. Nikta resented this more than anything. It’s hard to be strong when no one treats you like you are.

Konzu stopped by late in the morning. Nikta was sitting on her sleeping mat drawing designs in the dust. She thought she’d cried all of her tears for the day and didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to speak with the elder; she felt resentful he had left her out of the conversation about her brother’s fate. But Konzu didn’t leave despite Nikta’s best attempt to communicate her rage with a withering look. The old man stood leaning on his walking stick instead, looking down at Nikta with pitying eyes.

“Nikta, I’m sorry. I really am.”

Nikta didn’t respond.

“We weren’t trying to hide this from you because we didn’t think you could handle it.” Konzu began to speak a little faster. “There was a real threat to both you and your brother because of his condition. We only wanted to make sure no one had a reason to hurt you.”

“So you hurt me instead.” Nikta spoke the words like she was spitting acid and Konzu looked down in shame.

“Yes, I suppose I did.” He seemed to know better than to push the subject. “I hope you can forgive me, Nikta. You’re a strong girl and Cetus will need you someday. Don’t let this sour you forever.”

Konzu began walking toward the flap leading outside. Just as he pulled it back, Nikta remembered something.

“Konzu.”

“Yes?” 

“Who’s Lotus?”

Konzu hesitated, and even though Nikta couldn’t see his face, she imagined this was not the question he had expected at all.

“Please don’t lie to me again.” Nikta heard her voice crack. Not because she needed to know who Lotus was, but because she needed her faith in Konzu, and Cetus, restored by the answer.

“That is a complicated question. Now isn’t the time for the whole story.” Konzu looked over his shoulder and tutted as Nikta began to protest. “I can give you the short of it though. The Lotus leads the Tenno.” Konzu took his hand off the flap and scratched his chin. “She isn’t so much their commander though, as their guide. I’ve always felt like the Lotus was something of a mother to the Tenno.” Konzu lifted the flap and walked out, saying as he exited, “Come to me later, when the scars have begun to heal, and I will tell you what I can.”

Nikta was dumbfounded. The mother of the Tenno? She thought the Orokin had created the Tenno. Maybe she had adopted them like Crae’s parents had adopted him when he was orphaned by the Grinneer. Were the Tenno orphans? She hoped the Tenno were as good of siblings to each other as she and Hakim had been.

Nikta began crying again and curled up on her bed. Her mind was determined to replay the events of the previous days in excruciating detail until last night, of which all she could remember were fragmented pieces of a greater whole she could not recall. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikta woke to the sound of a fire crackling and the scent of cooking sausages. Her heart leapt and she sat up with a start. “Hakim!?”

“Not quite, missy.”

Nikta startled a little when she saw the hulking figure that had let itself into her house. Hok always looked pudgy when he was standing around, but the large man’s muscles rippled as he prepared the meal.

“Hok... What are you…?”

Hok gave Nikta a little grin. “Making dinner, what’s it look like?” The man reached forward and quickly flipped the sausages on the grill above the fire. The heat didn’t seem to bother the blacksmith. 

Nikta shook her head in confusion. “I’m sorry, but why are you cooking me dinner?” Nikta didn’t dislike Hok, but he didn’t have what one would call a domestic disposition. Nikta had heard that Hok had been engaged for a time, but his lover had called it off. Apparently she didn’t believe Hok would be able to help raise a child. Nikta generally agreed. Hok would indulge the children of Cetus occasionally or mete out a punishment if needed, but didn’t seem to have much of a paternal instinct beyond that.

Hok chuckled a little, and reached behind himself to grab a large object wrapped in cloth. Nikta recognized it as the zaw Hok had brought the night he’d met with Hakim. Hok extended the weapon to Nikta, “Here, take it.” Gingerly Nikta took the zaw from Hok and sat down opposite the blacksmith with the imposing weapon in her lap, and looked to Hok for guidance. The man simply nodded. With care, Nikta began to unwind the cloth strip that concealed Hok’s zaw.

The blade was the first part to be revealed. Nikta recognized this particular zaw as a Mewan. The blade was wide and resembled a hatchet more than a sword. Sharp teeth ran half the length of the blade before giving way to a quickly tapering point. The oiled metal gleamed in the light of the fire, illuminating waves of flecks that peppered the blade. Hok’s craft involved a mixture of technology, both archaic and contemporary. The blade was forged by hand, then sharpened and galvanized using specialized equipment. Hok’s zaw had been gilded beyond that as well, a process which coated the blade in special Orokin alloys. Hok was one of a handful of people who knew how to work these alloys, which made his blades so valuable.

Finally Nikta reached the weapon’s hilt. She gave a small squeak of surprise as the cloth concealing it fell away. Normally the hilt of a zaw was fashioned out of metal wrapped in layers of cloth and leather. But this blade was supported by an intricately carved piece of wood, perfectly contoured to fit Hok’s huge hands. Nikta could recognize her brother’s work anywhere.

“You may not know this, but I worked with your brother when he was doing better.” Nikta turned the grip in her hands, it was a straight hilt, sized to be used for a hand and a half blade. The material itself was some kind of dark hardwood, inlaid with with a lighter wood that was carved to look like a serpent coiling its way around the grip. It was better than anything of her brother’s she’d seen before, but it was Hakim’s work for sure. She looked up to catch Hok staring at her as she examined the hilt. He quickly went back to preparing dinner.

“Hakim carved a few grips for me when you were still in your swaddling clothes. Of course times were different then. Hakim was strong enough to carve the more difficult woods, and the battles were different. A wooden hilt wouldn’t last five minutes now.” Hok finished ripping up the bread and used it to quickly grab the sausages over the fire. “As far as I know there are only two of those hilts left. Mine here, and another I gifted to a friend in Fortuna.” Hok took a blade out of his pocket and put a clean cut down the middle of each sausage. Dark, richly spiced juice flowed out, soaking the bread. He handed a plate to Nikta, “Eat.”

Nikta’s stomach growled as she took the plate. She hadn’t noticed how hungry she was. She hadn’t felt like eating since her sparse breakfast this morning. She was normally ravenous by mid-day but today had been different. Nikta grabbed a piece of bread and dipped it in the juices on the plate and spit it out, her tongue scorched by the hot liquid. Hok shook his head, and passed her a flask. Nikta took a gulp but immediately spewed the drink out. 

“Wrong one!” Hok grabbed the flask back and handed Nikta a canteen instead. Hok raised his flask to Nikta and took a long swig. She cautiously lifted the canteen to her lips, but only cool water met her tongue. Nikta swallowed half the container before she put it down. Wiping her lips, Nikta again turned her attention to the plate before her, but this time with more caution.

“Why didn’t you help Hakim more after he got worse?” Nikta ripped off a chunk of bread as she spoke. “If he was a friend wouldn’t…” Nikta stuffed the bread in her mouth, and swallowed. She barely took the time to chew, she was so hungry. “... wouldn’t you try?”

Hok shook his head. “You know your brother, he was too proud to accept anything. It’s an admirable quality but you can go too far.” Hok grabbed a sausage and took a bite before continuing. “I tried to help when he began getting worse but he always refused me. I was beginning to get worried, but then you got older.”

“Hmmm?” Nikta looked up at Hok, a sausage halfway into her mouth.

“Hakim wouldn’t listen to anyone, but as soon as you were old enough you had him confined to his bed. He actually started getting better for a time.” Hok shook his head. “You and he have the same fight in you, and it took his own blood to keep him contained.” Nikta must have looked shocked at this because Hok chuckled. “You may not realize it, but you did more for that boy than anyone else in the damn town.” Nikta only nodded mutely as she chewed on her bread.

“Now,” Hok set his plate down and sat back. “I’m not here to tell stories, or air my grievances about your brother’s treatment. No matter how strongly I feel about the matter.” Hok’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment Nikta thought he may air them regardless. Hok quickly seemed to gain control before he continued. “Your brother came to me yesterday, let me know his decision--”

Nikta interrupted Hok, yelling. “Did everyone in Cetus know about this except for me?” 

“Maybe.” Hok scratched his chin. “I told him that it wouldn’t work, mind you. He wasn’t going to just be able to up and disappear on you like that.” Hok gave a devilish grin, “And not to talk myself up, but I’m guessing I was right, based on the commotion down by the landing pad last night.”

Nikta didn’t need to know how many people heard her tantrum the night before. She did her best to assume it was just Hok who heard, maybe out for an evening walk? But she struggled to believe it, and the pitying looks of those who stopped by that day paraded through her mind once more. Thankfully Hok didn’t let the silence sit for long.

“My point is, your brother asked me to keep an eye on you.”

“What?!”

Hok nodded sagely. “Yup. Asked if I’d look after you. I know you got some healing to do, so I won’t push you, but I have a spare room and bed in my house. I’ve never thought of myself as much of a parent, but I couldn’t tell Hakim no.” 

A long silence followed as Nikta stared down at the remains of her dinner. Hok finished his plate, and set it down before standing. He began brushing the dirt from his pants. Nikta had always known him as a man of few words. She’d never heard him speak this much outside of when he was hawking his wares. That wasn’t going to change now.

“Wait!”

Hok finished brushing off and looked down at Nikta. He was so huge it was like looking up at the Orokin Tower that stood just outside Cetus. 

“Why would you take me in?”

“Not out of the goodness of my heart, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Hok laughed at Nikta’s look of shock, “I’m doing it because your brother was one of the finest damn craftsmen in Cetus. He refused to go into business with me. He got too weak well before I could change his mind.”

“I’m not my brother.” Nikta snapped at Hok. She didn’t want to just be her brother’s proxy. Hok seemed to ignore this and instead sized up her wiry frame.

“That may be, but I know raw materials. You two are made of the same stuff. I want to pass my knowledge on to someone. I know if I can give it to you; I’ll have forged something that’ll last longer than any weapon.” 

Hok turned and strode out of the tent without so much as a goodbye. Nikta’s mouth hung open. If she hadn’t been so overwhelmed and tired from the last couple days, she might’ve noticed that Hok was looking a little red in the face himself. Nikta just felt lost, unable to get her bearing amidst so many changes. Nikta finished her meal and drank the last of the water before going to bed early. She desperately hoped that the world would right itself while she was sleeping.


	7. Chapter 7

The world did not right itself that night, nor the next night, nor the night after that. Life continued and Nikta struggled to find her new normal. She began to believe that maybe the world didn’t right itself, maybe you just got used to living upside down. At night she’d sit at the fire wondering who else in Cetus felt this way. Was this growing up? One day everything goes topsy-turvy, and you realize there’s no returning to normal. And grow up Nikta did, at least a little bit.

She stopped playing with the other children. At first Nikta just didn’t feel like it, but after long enough she didn’t know how to return to her friends. She’d smile when they stopped by and humor their innocent inquiries. She had appreciated it when Meti offered her an Excalibur mask that her brother had made, but looking at it just made her heart hurt.

Instead Nikta spent her time down at the shallows on the edge of town. It was here the great slabs of flesh were brought to be processed after being harvested from Unum. She’d watch the workers for hours as they sliced the meat into giant, bleeding slabs to be processed and packaged for shipping. Many factions competed for access to the meat. Luckily for the Ostron, Unum, the consciousness of the tower, would only allow their people to harvest it’s flesh. Eventually the butchers began to take notice of Nikta. They gave her small tasks to do: fetch water, take a message to Konzu. All simple things but Nikta enjoyed it. It was nice to have purpose, and it helped tire her out. 

Nikta ate meals with Hok, but each evening she returned to her empty home to sleep. She knew Hok didn’t approve of her working for the harvesters. He’d make disparaging comments about their work, and how Nikta could do so much more. She’d point out that the flesh of Unum was the backbone of the Ostron’s trade, but Hok would only scoff at this.

In truth, Nikta did want to learn from Hok, but she couldn’t bring herself to start. Forging weapons would eventually bring her close to the Tenno. No matter how much the warriors did for Cetus, they took her brother, and Nikta didn’t know if she could forgive them. The thought of making weapons for the Tenno too painful. This was also the reason Nikta didn’t play with her friends anymore. They always wanted to play Tenno, and Nikta just couldn’t do it. It hurt too much even to pretend.

Life continued this way for many weeks. Nitka had been helping the butchers for some time now, and they were beginning to trust her with more duties. Today she was sitting atop a pile of flesh, using a rag to rub in a mix of salt and wax to prepare the flesh for shipping. The Ostron usually employed more advanced methods when dealing with the flesh of Unum, but the Corpus had submitted a large order to be minimally processed. This was a major order, and Nikta had been honored to be entrusted with this task.

The work was harder than Nikta had expected. She had to cover the flesh with salt and wait as it drew out the dark red blood that coursed through the tower’s veins. Nikta would use a broom to sweep off the salt when it became too saturated with blood before spreading another layer. When the salt finally lay dry and white atop the flesh for five minutes she could begin the waxing process. Using a rag and block of wax she’d work the wax over the flesh, giving it a glossy shine and airtight seal.

By midday Nikta was beginning to tire. She’d been laboring with the sun beating down on her back for hours now. As she sat up and wiped sweat from her brow, she noticed a Liset approaching the nearby landing pad. As usual a group of children began to form near the pad, all waiting to get a glimpse of what form the Tenno inside had chosen to take. Nikta felt a sense of unease looking at the Liset. Something about the ship’s markings was familiar in an unsettling way.

Nikta did her best to ignore the feeling, and went back to her work. This was the first major task the harvesters had ever given her. She wanted to do well so they would ask her to return. Maybe she’d even become an apprentice when she was a little older. 

There was a whoosh and clunk as the liset released its occupant. There were shouts from the children. Looking up, Nikta saw the cause for excitement. This liset was transporting a warframe that had never been seen before, at least in Cetus.

The fascination the children of Cetus had with Warframes made them experts on the subject, or at least as close to experts as a non-Tenno could be. It wasn’t uncommon for adults to consult with the children regarding the Tenno at times. Despite the different colors, armaments and regalia worn by the Tenno, they could identify a warframe in no time at all. It didn’t matter what build or design, they never confused a Nyx with a Nova. 

Nikta remembered something Hakim had once told her. A group of researchers from New Loka had come through Cetus when he was a child. There was one among their number who could name a bird based just off the shadow it cast on the ground as it flew. Hakim said Nikta was like that, except instead of researching birds, she researched Tenno. This was an apt comparison. It was this generation, now teenagers, who had realized that the Tenno could take multiple forms. Konzu was already aware of this, but it wasn’t common knowledge until the children had recognized that some frames shared similar mannerisms, and realized that the Tenno weren’t the frames themselves but wore them like armor.

Today the frame that emerged was immediately recognizable as a new design. Minimally armored, it looked more like a shirtless human than a weapon of war. It was probably the sleekest design Nikta had ever seen on a male frame. While plenty of female frames, like Nyx, were usually unadorned, few male frames had the same distinction. Even the lithe Nezha frames had decorative armor. The only embellishments on this new frame was a simple sarong around the waist. A few of the younger kids were brave enough to get up close to the warframe stare into its faceless helm. Some of the workers noticed this and ran up to usher the children away while apologizing to the Tenno. The Tenno barely moved in acknowledgement and simply turned its head to follow the retreating forms.

Looking at this new Warframe, Nikta felt a surge of interest that she hadn’t felt since Hakim left. A new Warframe meant new powers to imagine, new games to play, new masks and figurines to carve. Carving that her brother would never have the chance to make… Nikta looked back down and did her best to focus on her work, and not think about the Tenno.

Nikta continued waxing the slab of meat, but she was distracted now. This new warframe reminded Nikta of something, but she didn’t know what. It was a slippery thought to grasp; like trying to catch a murkray with her bare hands. Nikta looked at the new warframe and scrunched up her face as if glaring at it would help.

A warm wind stirred, rolling lazily over the cliffs of Cetus and washing over the valley. It carried with it the sweet scent of flowers and trees mixed with the tang and punch of the spices of the market. Nikta inhaled deeply, and noticed the Tenno also turned its face into the wind. Nikta saw it had a round protrusion on the back of its head, reminiscent of a tight bun someone had put in his hair in as he worked.

The frame continued to stand on the pad long after its lander took off. Nikta didn’t know what it was doing. It just remained there, placidly turning its head to feel the wind and observe its surroundings. Nikt could feel her muscles relaxing as she watched the serene form. Suddenly the Tenno launched itself airborn in a graceful twirl. The frame was on top of the cliffs surrounding Cetus in a single, fluid motion. It must have leaped 50 feet without a second thought.

Nikta resumed working as the Tenno disappeared over the ridge. She was moving slowly now, lost in thought. She was sure this new warframe would cause a stir in Cetus, and information about it would be of great value to the children. Niktawas reminded of happier times; nights spent with a smiling Hakim as she told him about the latest discoveries, or theories about the Tenno. Hakim had often roughed out little carvings of the various warframes based on Nikta’s description. Usually they looked nothing like the actual thing, but occasionally he’d get it spot on. Nikta mourned Hakim’s absence; if he had been here, Nikta would get a carving of the new warframe that very night. Something like that would be very valuable in the children’s economy of trinkets, toys, and food.

Nikta dropped her rag and looked back to the ridgeline where the Tenno had disappeared. A carving of a brand new warframe. That’s what Hakim promised to make for her. Nikta hopped to her feet, and leapt off the slab of meat. 

“Ursu, I need to go!” Nikta yelled in the general direction of the master butcher as she ran.

“Yeah, fine.” Ursu didn’t look up from what he was doing. The greying man was already pointing over his shoulder at his various apprentices, redistributing work as Nikta reached Cetus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikta ran home at full speed, jumping over gardens and weaving between buildings. She felt a sense of deja vu. Soon this would be over; the new warframe had been finished, and the Tenno would no longer require Hakim’s services. Nikta couldn’t wait to ask him about everything he saw.

Rounding one more curve Nikta finally made it home. No MOA were there to greet her, no merchants waited by the door. Only the curtain in the doorway was twisting in the wind, as if inviting her inside. Nikta didn’t hesitate and barged in, beaming. 

The house was just how she’d left it. A blanket was sitting next to the firepit, where she’d been working on her data slate the night before. “Hakim?”

Nikta ran to her brother’s room and stuck her head through the doorway. Her brother’s bed was still perfectly made, and his shelves were covered with carvings in various stages of completion. Everything was in the same place as the day he left. “Hakim?” 

Nikta looked in her room; it was empty aside from her own bed covered in a crumpled blanket. “Hakim?” Her voice was quieter now. Nikta stepped out to walk around the house. There was no sign that anyone had been here. 

Nikta finished her circle and slumped against the doorframe. She felt so stupid. Hakim wasn’t coming back. Nikta knew that. It was just … a new warframe had arrived.

Nikta slammed her fist against the house, and could feel as her body began to tremble. No, she thought. She was done being the victim. Hakim wasn’t coming back, and as much as it hurt, Nikta had to keep going. She had to be an adult now. Holding back tears, Nikta began the excruciating walk back to the shore, and her presumed future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Nikta?”

Nikta was approaching the edge of the residential district when a voice called out behind her. The girl turned to see Meti walking down the path. The smaller boy was wearing loose fitting play clothes and his face was set in a determined frown.

“Oh, hey Meti.” Nikta saw something flash in Meti’s eyes, but it was quickly hidden as he looked down at his feet. He took a moment to trace his toe through the dirt, like he hoped to write out what he would say next.

“Did you hear about the new warframe?” Meti shyly looked up to check Nikta’s reaction.

Nikta did her best to remain stoic. She was an adult now. “Yeah, I saw it when it landed this morning. Are you going to go see if you can find it?”

Meti looked back down. “Yeah, everyone’s going to meet up near the gates. I think we’re going to try for a full sweep.” A new warframe was a big deal in Cetus, especially for the children. When a wickedly sharp looking warframe had arrived a few months earlier, the children of Cetus decided to post lookouts all over the settlement to watch the warframe and gather info on it. This was the one time everyone got along, regardless of cliques or other childish feuds. “Do you want to come?” Meti looked at Nikta hopefully.

“I don’t know Meti, I’m helping with a big project down at the shore. I don’t want to let down the guys.” Nikta tried her best to sound important.

“Oh…” Meti deflated a little, and went silent.

The two children stood in silence for a moment. Meti still refused to meet Nikta’s eyes. The look of increasing frustration on the girls face did little to help the situation. Finally she decided she’d waited long enough. 

“Alright, I’ll see you later Meti.” Nikta began to walk off. She had barely made it five feet when a body collided with her from behind, knocking her off balance. Nikta tried to turn around to see what was going on, but Meti had locked his arms around Nikta’s chest.

“I know why you don’t want to come. You don’t want to chase the Tenno because of Hakim!” Meti was speaking too quickly for Nitka to interject. It sounded like the boy was close to crying. “You don’t want to play with us because of Hakim, but will you please come today? For us?!”

Nikta twisted in Meti’s grasp, easily overpowering him. She turned to face him. Tears left long streaks down both of their cheeks, but neither wanted to be the first to cry in earnest. Nikta had turned with the intention of being angry, but she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t yell at Meti about jumping on her, or digging up these feelings when she was trying so hard to be strong. All Nikta could do was ask “Why…?”

Meti sniffed. “We miss you.” His face began to turn red, and for a moment Nikta was worried he was about to have a meltdown. Meti himself seemed aware of this, and took a couple of snot filled breaths before continuing in a shaking voice, “It’s not as fun when you aren’t there. You’ve always been like my big sister. No one else is as nice to me....” Meti trailed off for a moment before working up the nerve to go on. “You took care of Hakim, but he wasn’t the only one who relied on you.” Meti paused, then continued in a much quieter voice. “I know Crae’s worried too. He already lost his family to a Grineer attack. I think he’s scared of losing you now ....”

Nikta was silent for a long time as shame coursed hot through her body. She didn’t think anyone would miss her, or even be that worried. She felt so stupid for assuming that! The Ostron relied on each other. She was so focused on losing Hakim she’d lost track of everyone else.

Nikta had to fight an urge to escape. She wanted to run to her friends, but didn’t want to show her face at the same time. Once again, Nikta felt tears welling up. She shook silently as she tried to get in control. Tentatively Meti gave Nikta a hug. He seemed unsure of just what to do, but squeezed tighter when Nikta returned the embrace. 

For a moment, Nikta was back home with Hakim. She’d broken one of her favorite toys almost a year ago. It was a yo-yo Hakim had carved for her. It was Nikta’s fault that it broke, they both knew it. She’d been using it as a grappling hook, even though it was very obviously not made for that purpose. Hakim didn’t scold her about breaking the toy. He didn’t tell Nikta to suck it up. He only held her tightly, accepting her despite her mistake. Accepting her because he didn’t believe she deserved to suffer, no matter what she did. Just like she knew he didn’t deserve to suffer.

The feeling passed as quickly as it came, but Nikta felt a little better, peaceful even. She was still sad, and her life had still changed. Despite this, her friends remained, ready for her to return regardless of how she’d changed. 

Nikta and Meti released each other at the same time. Nikta stepped back and wiped her cheeks. “Okay, I think I’m ready.”

Meti smiled, and for once it was the timid little boy who led as they ran through the streets of Cetus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikta and Meti were the last to arrive at the gate. Ten children were milling around, talking about the new warframe in hushed whispers. Ceda was standing on a small boulder barking orders. Her golden hair was wound in tight curls that bobbed as she motioned at the others. Nikta and Ceda had always had a rocky relationship. Hakim said they were too similar, and her friends all seemed to agree. This offended Nikta. Ceda was loud and bossy, always trying to get people to do what she wanted. Nikta could get a little bossy, but she only told her friends what to do because she cared. Besides, Nikta didn’t tell people what to do that often.

Nikta saw Crae and Alphim standing at the edge of the milieu. They’d all witnessed this scene many times. Ceda was trying to organize everyone with a plan that would fall apart as soon as one of the younger kids found a cool bug. Nikta’s friends were here because the Tenno may be heading out to the plains, not to listen to Ceda. Crae saw the two approaching, and jerked his head in their direction to say hi. Crae had been doing this a lot lately. Nikta imagined he’d seen some of the Cetus militia do this, and he was trying to act tough by copying them. The result, however, was to make him look even more childish.

“Hey, good to see you. Did you come to see the new warframe?” If Crae was worried about Nikta, he was doing a good job of hiding it.

“I’ve already seen it. I was probably even the first one.” Crae’s eyes widened. It occurred to Nikta that she might be trying to hide that she missed him as well. It was a fleeting thought as she basked in her friend’s jealousy.

Alphim came up and gave Nikta an awkward side hug. It was a probing action, like he was trying to gauge how Nikta was doing. Nikta squeezed Alphim back. She appreciated her friend’s support, no matter how hesitant.

“Wait, stop.” Crae shook his hand at the two, breaking the moment as quickly as it began. “You saw it? What did it lo--heads up!”

Ceda’s yelling had stopped. Nikta turned to see the girl approaching. Ceda had an exotic beauty to her. She was pale and freckled, quite different from the swarthy complexion common amongst the Ostron.

“I swear, it’s impossible to get anything done around here!” Ceda sounded exasperated as she she flipped her hair back and sighed dramatically.

“Oh sorry, your highness, I wasn’t listening.” Crae’s voice was dripping sarcasm. 

Normally this would be enough to infuriate Ceda, but amazingly she just ignored Crae. Instead she turned to Nikta, and looked her up and down. “Are you okay?” There was genuine concern in Ceda’s eyes, and Nikta was shocked to see such softness from her sometimes nemesis.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Nikta’s response was very quiet. She didn’t want to get into it if she could help it, especially not with Ceda. The girl could use anything Nikta said against her without warning. Ceda might care now, but maybe not tomorrow.

Ceda simply nodded in response. “Well, you let me know if you need to talk. You know,” Ceda shot Crae a withering stare, “girl to girl.”

Crae snorted. “Whatever, Nikta isn’t a girly girl like you.”

Ceda’s eyes caught the light like two burning coals. It looked to Nikta like a fight was about to break out, and this time she may even be on Ceda’s side.

“Really? Didn’t you get a spanking because you thought Nikta was too girly to save you?.” Alphim’s monotone voice cut through the tension.

“Hey!” Crae flushed and threw a series of playful punches at Alphim.

Alphim grinned as he fended Crae off, and Nikta couldn’t help but laugh. She’d really missed those two. 

Offending Crae seemed to placate Ceda. “As much as I enjoy making fun of the tube-head,” Ceda gave a dismissive wave in Crae’s direction. “Do you guys want to do something? I’m not getting anywhere with the others. We’re probably too late to see the new warframe anyway.”

The children all looked at each other for a moment. Alphim seemed like he was about to say something, but it was Meti who acted first. The boy sprung forward like a pouncing kavat and shoved Nikta. “You’re it!” And with that Meti disappeared into the nearby boulders. Alphim, Crae and Ceda looked at each other, startled. 

Nikta felt electricity surge through her body as soon as Meti touched her. She’d thought she was exhausted from helping process the meat of Unum, but no; she was tired of working. Her body didn’t want to rest, it wanted to play!

“Tag!” Nikta turned, slapped Ceda on the shoulder, and took off. She saw Alphim dash toward the rocks, and heard Crae yelp. The wind whipped against Nikta’s face as she ran into a nearby canyon. Laughter was ringing all around her. Nikta almost didn’t recognize it as her own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikta was exhausted when she finally returned home that night. Her friends had done their best to run her ragged. They’d played tag in the cliffs, skipped rocks at the shore, and started a game of kickball near the gate. Whenever things began to wind down, someone would make another suggestion, and the others would sweep Nikta off to play the new game. Ceda even spent the entire day with them; it was her idea to round up enough players for kickball. Best of all, no one wanted to play Tenno.

Nikta was pleasantly tired, and felt a sense belonging she’d been missing. She’d forgotten how fun it was to be with her friends. Even coming home couldn’t bring her spirits down. Though the house was empty, Nikta didn’t feel completely alone tonight.

However, she put off sleeping as long as she could. Nikta knew only nightmares awaited her. She hadn’t slept through the night for weeks now, and had grown to dread her bed. 

Lua was high in the sky by time Nikta gave in to her exhaustion. Hauling herself up from the dying fire she pushed aside the curtain to her room. Light was streaming through the window onto her sleeping mat. Nikta didn’t think she’d left the window open. She went to draw it closed when something caught her eye. Nikta gave an audible gasp. Nestled on her pillow, like a baby bird in a nest, was a small statuette. 

Nikta’s hands trembled as she picked up the figure. The moonlight illuminated the figure with stark contrasts of light and shadow. It was a perfect copy of the warframe that had appeared in Cetus that day, down to the bun on the back of it’s head. 

Nikta ran her fingers over the statue; it was smooth. Looking closely, she realized the statue had been covered in a clear material. It looked like someone had used a foundry to coat it in plastic. That hardly needed to be done, wood like this could hold up for years. She could tell the wood was her brother’s work. It was the best carving of his she’d ever seen.

Nikta turned the statue over in her hands, taking time to familiarize herself with every detail. Nikta could feel the same sense of calm she’d felt earlier that day when she saw the warframe for the first time. The figure was in a full lotus, hands resting gently on its knees. There was no way to see a face under the carved helm, but Nikta sensed that its eyes were closed in peaceful meditation. She’d never seen a depiction of a Tenno quite like it. Everyone knew the Tenno were deadly warriors, but no one talked about what the Tenno are like when they aren’t protecting the Origin System. Had Hakim witnessed some secret peace, hidden away beyond the prying eyes of those they fought for?

Looking closely she noticed symbols carved into the base of the statue. Delicately curving lines ran parallel to each other with small marks separating them. Each was perfectly etched, not by hand but by a laser. Nikta recognized the letters of the Tenno language. She didn’t know anyone who could read this, but she didn’t need to. Beneath these, hand carved in big, blocky letters was a single word.

‘BARUUK’

It must be the name of the new warframe. A brand new design, and Hakim had seen it first, before anyone else. She felt herself inflate with pride, smiling, as happy tears welled in her eyes.

Nikta crawled under the covers. She didn’t bother changing, or closing the curtains. She just cradled her brother’s final and greatest work in her arms. She looked down at the little statue like a baby in the moonlight. Baruuk...

Nikta’s eyes began to close. Tomorrow she’d go to Hok. Hopefully he would still be willing to take her on. She was beginning to think that working so close to the Tenno might not hurt so much after all. But first she needed to rest. Nikta closed her eyes, and fell into her first restful sleep in a long time.


	8. Chapter 8

That night, thousands of miles above where Nikta slept, a liset broke the atmosphere. Slowly the landing craft approached another, much larger ship locked in orbit over the Earth. The liset synched its orbit to that of the other ship and made its approach, slotting perfectly into place. There was a mechanical clunk in the ship, and a second later the Baruuk frame descended into the orbiter.

The warframe walked with purpose, not stopping to check the fabrication table throwing sparks as its arms furiously worked to churn out the weapons and tools utilized by the Tenno; nor did it stop to look over the modifications collected on its recent visit to the Plains of Eidolon. The ship seemed to feel similarly indifferent about its master. A kubrow lounging in the heat of the incubator opened an eye to blink at the warframe before rolling onto its back and returning to sleep. Not even the ship’s cephalon greeted the returning master, though these simulated consciousnesses were notoriously chatty.

The warframe came to stand in the armory where the miracles of technology had been harnessed to become a glorified wardrobe. The dias the frame stood on could swap out weapons or even the frame itself in a fraction of a second, allowing the Tenno to change their kit in a hurry as they went from one mission to the next. For now, however, the armory was silent. Baruuk stood on the dias, framed by bright lights, and his breathing began to slow. Soon the organic shifts and movements so unavoidable in the living ceased, or at least became so subtle they were impossible to note. Baruuk stood at attention. The stillness of the liset felt like a tomb, and he the ever watchful guard.

There was no movement or sound aside from the soft whirring and arcs coming from the fabricator and the quiet breathing of the Kubrow. After several long minutes there was a metallic whoosh as a door in the back of the orbiter opened, and the blonde girl who had taken Hakim stepped out. She carried herself with the same dignity as Baruuk, but she wasn’t nearly as stoic. The girl stretched as she walked, pulling her arms across her torso, and twisting her back. She always felt stiff when exiting the somatic link. Intricate golden spiderwebs cascaded down her back and shoulders. She’d let her hair out but hadn’t gotten around to brushing it yet. It was difficult to remember these details when you rarely inhabited your own body. 

The girl gave a dispassionate, cursory glance around the Orbiter as she approached the Baruuk frame. She didn’t seem to notice as her Kubrow as he ran in his sleep; chasing a dream ball, or perhaps a fleeing Grineer.

The Operator’s delicate physique was a stark contrast to the tall, broad shouldered warframe. The girl looked like a young teen compared to the hulking figure. An accurate assessment given her age, but the Tenno rarely saw themselves as anything but adults.

Slowly she reached out and put her hand to the warframe’s chest. Closing her eyes, the Operator felt for the subtle beating of the warframe’s heart. She knew it was there, but it took some concentration to feel the pulse hidden in the ship’s vibrations. It was subtle; the process of making a warframe changed the body drastically. This circulatory system had little in common with that of a human being. It would be impossible for anyone else to find this heartbeat, but not her. She had worn this body, been one with its form. The Operator and her Warframe were one, even when they were apart.

The Operator opened her eyes again and looked into the face of the warframe, remembering the little girl she’d met in Cetus. Nikta, if she remembered correctly. The child had been enamoured with Nyx. The Tenno had watched many emotions flash across the little girl’s face that night: awe, fear, admiration, jealousy. Looking at the expressionless face of Baruuk the Operator tried to find those emotions in herself. The two faces mirrored each other, the Tenno as unexpressive as the blank face before her.

The Operator removed her hand from Baruuk’s chest and ran her fingers through her hair. She winced as they caught in a snarl of hair. She wondered how Nikta would feel if she knew the true nature of the Tenno. How would the Origin System react to the glorified shut-ins so many of her siblings had become. The Operator thought of what she had taken from that poor girl. She could feel a knot twist in her heart. It was unfair, and there was little she could do to heal the wounds the Tenno inflicted on the system in the name of peace. The Operator was determined to do what little she could. Setting her face with grim determination, she turned from her new warframe and walked deep into the Orbiter; swallowed by the shadow cast by the Tenno’s dark dealings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ship’s cephalon kept things very clean. The walls and doors gleamed with a disinfected light. All except for one hellish door. Fleshy growths spilled out of it, velvet mold escaped through every seam. The walls and floor near the door were coated with a spongy surface; more than fungus, less than flesh. Polyps and tendrils of various sizes swayed back and forth as they sprouted along the thick, living carpet. This was the only place the Tenno dreaded to walk. A living reminder of the sacrifice required to keep their endless vigil. 

The room held a modified strain of the same infection that afflicted the infested. It had been domesticated, or at least weakened to a more controllable state, many years before the Operator’s time. This particular strain of infestation had developed a limited sense of self, enough to have a purpose and communicate at a basic level. It called itself ‘Helminth’.

There were only three times Helminth let its master in. The first was if the Operator or one of her warframes was infected by another strain of infestation. Helminth was able to remove and inoculate against this. The process was less than pleasant, but it was the only option to date. 

Second, Tenno were allowed entrance when escorting the material to create a Warframe. A somber affair, and regrettably common. 

The third time Helminth would permit the Operator to enter was unique to her, at least as far as she was aware. This was the day following the creation of a warframe, after the new frame had been released, but before Helminth began the process of ‘cleaning’ itself.

The girl secured her hair in a tight ponytail, fastening it with an ornate copper band. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward. As she neared, the portal opened like any other door, although it made a more organic sound. A kind of squelching that the Operator tried not to think about as she stepped into the room and allowed the door to close behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The smell almost knocked the girl off her feet. Though she knew what to expect she never managed to successfully brace herself. The flesh of the Helminth had a sickly sweet scent, layered with hints of mildew. This was bad enough on its own, but a week long surgery had just been performed in here. The smell of flesh, blood and rot was strong. This wasn’t the smell of a bloody battlefield. The smell rested here; given time to fester instead of being blown away in the rush of combat. The Operator realized she was holding her breath, and forced herself to exhale then inhale, choking on the thick air. 

Moving forward she kept an eye to the ceiling of the room. There was an operating station in the center of the room. A reclining chair surrounded by trays and pans of various sizes, but no surgical implements. Helminth always provides its own tools. Long arms tipped with knives, needles, and worse were tucked away in the ceiling, waiting to descend when the time came. The Operator knew no harm would come to her in here, but once when Helminth was cleaning itself it had dripped a thick, viscous liquid on her. She had no intention of spending her day washing void knows what from her hair. 

Carefully skirting the droplets splattering on the floor the Operator stepped down onto the glass plate that covered the back half of the floor. Below was a milky liquid, filled with vague and unrecognizable shapes. She didn’t know if that was where the Helminth kept its main body or its food supply. She’d tried asking once, but the basal creature would only answer in vague adjectives.

Against the far wall lay a long cylinder. The glass face revealed a white bed within. It was here that The Operator brought her charges when creating a new warframe. She would delicately help them lie back on the cylinder however they were most comfortable. After that she would leave, and a week later the person would be gone from the bed, and a brand new warframe would be found sitting at the central station.

The Operator grasped a latch at the end of the cylinder and pulled. The door resisted her grip for a moment before slowly beginning to open. Some of Helminth’s form had grown over one side of the door, and there was a fleshy ripping sound as it tore apart, freeing the portal. Big droplets of dark blood welled along the rip in the being’s flesh, but Helminth gave no indication that it hurt. 

The girl bent down to look in the base of the cylinder. This was the holding tank where unnecessary parts were disposed of while making a warframe. Sticky yellow mesh crisscrossed the amorphous mass of flesh and offal. It smelled of death and rot. 

The Operator closed her eyes for a moment, then plunged her hand deep into the mass of flesh. The Operator probed around with her fingers, praying that she wouldn’t find anything particularly nasty. Warframes did not eat, and had no need for a digestive system, which made up a majority of the bio-waste from the creation process. Anything else non-critical went in here though, including clothes or any objects the subject had on them. The process was thorough and the Operator had no reason to deny her charges the small comfort of a trinket or bauble. Theoretically a Tenno would never need to even see this, much lest shove their hand in it. This Tenno had her own theories though.

She tried to be as delicate as possible, but the girl couldn’t avoid making a certain amount of noise, great raspberries as her hand worked its way deep into the mass of flesh. For a second she thought she’d found her prize as her fingers brushed against some hard object. The Operator withdrew her hand with a sickening squelch only to se she’d found a small fragment of bone. She tossed it to the side and reinserted her hand into the mess.

After a time the Operator’s hand came across another hard object. This one was long and thin; exactly what she was looking for. Taking care not to cut herself, the Operator removed her hand. The dull gleam of steel was hidden under the blood. Nothing she couldn’t clean.

Upon securing her prize the Operator stood and walked out of the room, stopping for a moment to wash her find, and herself, in a basin of clean water at the operating table. After that it was a quick walk to the door and back into the fresh air of the ship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stepping out of Helminth’s room, the Tenno exhaled and took a couple deep breaths. Having composed herself, she admired her prize. It was a finely crafted carving knife, the wood handle inlaid with gold metal commonly scavenged from orokin ruins. The blade itself was a sturdy steel alloy often used by the Ostron. Hakim had used it to whittle away at his sister’s statue for hours while being prepped for the procedure. It was a new experience for the Operator, but she came to enjoy the smell of wood shavings, even if it drove her cephalon crazy.

The Operator made her way over to the foundry table and ran a finger along the edge. There was a small button on the far left side. It was invisible to the eye. She pressed it gently and was rewarded by a soft click as a small drawer slid open. The inside of the drawer looked archaic compared to the rest of this ship. The metal interior had been panelled with dark wood on the inside, and the bottom of the drawer was covered in soft velvet. Nestled in the drawer were 4 seemingly unrelated objects, all nestled into the velvet lining with care.

The first was a delicate bracelet made from Orokin salvage, a pretty accessory with little other value. Next, a monogrammed Corpus earpiece, the kind awarded to servicemen of excellent standing. After that was a small, raggedy doll with a head made out of wood and a body formed from layers upon layers of thick, woolen fabric. This was the most crude item, and it’s dull cloth was stained in a rainbow of colors. Finally, there was a translucent stone, polished to a bright shine and drilled through the top so a thick cord could be looped through. Almost reverently the Operator placed the knife in the drawer next to the necklace. She made a few adjustments to the spacing of the items.

Finally, when the Operator was satisfied with her handiwork she lifted two fingers to her lips and brought them down to rest on the armlet while whispering a single word.

“Aran.”

One by one she went down the line, touching each object and whispering a single word. 

“Celpath.” 

“Dennise.”

“Eris.”

Finally the Tenno reached the knife. She touched her fingers to her lips and delicately placed them on the handle.

“Hakim.”

The Tenno girl hesitated for a moment, seemingly unsure about lifting her finger. This little ritual was completely of her own design, there was no reason she couldn’t decide to modify it. At the same time, it just felt wrong. She stood there chewing her lip for a time before whispering once more to the knife.

“Nikta.”

Satisfied, the Tenno gently slid the hidden drawer shut, the fine seam running around the outside made it nearly invisible on the body of the foundry. She walked up the ramp to the front of the orbiter. She stood there silently for a time, appreciating the view into space. 

The Operator knew that Ordis, her cephalon, was itching to speak with her, but was waiting for her to speak first. A rare event indeed, and she was going to savor it. She didn’t know why, but most of the cephalons she had met were chatty. It was a miracle Ordis had been quiet this long. 

The Operator refocused her attention out the window: the stars held still in the sky, but the lights of ships danced among them. Every so often a line of bright light would cross the sky and disappear into the distance as a solar rail was activated, allowing faster than light travel between the planets. It was peaceful here, tucked away in her ship. The void of space swallowed all sound, and there was no way of knowing which lights held peaceful traders and which were playing host to one of the many battles for survival that played out across the system. 

The girl sighed. There were so many sacrifices being made these days. Families torn apart, peaceful settlements forced to take up arms. And here she was, trying to help salvage whatever peace she could, but fracturing families in the process herself. It had to end. She needed it to end. The Tenno had been named poet-warriors at one time, and the knowledge kept her going. Some day, when this was all over, she and her siblings would be able to practice poetry instead of war. She looked forward to writing songs about the currently unsung heroes whose memories lay hidden in her Orbiter.

The warrior moved to sit cross legged at the navigation console. “Ordis?”

“Yes, Operator?” Ordis had a male voice, but a distinctly tinny one that marked him as a technological consciousness, rather than a human.

“What’s on the docket today?”

“We’ve received several alerts regarding Corpus movements. The Lotus is currently putting together some strike forces to slow, if not reverse their advance. It seems the Corpus have been busy and are deploying multiple Hyena Packs to make our job more difficult.”

The Operator considered her options for a moment. “Are there any raids or defense missions going on? Something that will keep me out in the field for a while?”

“Yes master. In fact, the Lotus needs a few Tenno to act as a distraction for an infiltration team.”

The girl smiled mischievously. “Ordis, let the Lotus know we’ll be there. I want to put Baruuk through his paces. The longer we can be in the field the better.”

“Yes master. ETA in 2 hours.” 

“Thank you Ordis. Set us on a course to get there, and let me know when we’re fifteen minutes out. I’ll be meditating in the meantime.”

The Tenno felt the ship change course before she’d finished speaking. Their marker on the star chart was now heading toward one of the relays in Earth’s orbit. In two hours she would be knee deep in Corpus soldiers and bots, doing her best to keep them focused on her and not the team infiltrating the security vaults. But she still had two hours, and planned to make the most of it. 

The Tenno sat up a little straighter, closed her eyes, and breathed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story definitely took on a life of its own. I came up with the general narrative first, then populated it with characters after the fact. My original intention was for it to be a chapter or two long, but the characters began to take on a life of their own and I realized the story would be really lacking if I didn’t fully flesh them out. 
> 
> I especially like Nikta, she’s just a strong willed little girl. I plan to revisit her later on in life, after she’s spent some time under Hok’s tutelage; which will turn her into either a hero, or a hellraiser. I’m currently working on a slightly more ambitious project to see more of the Origin System through Nikta’s eyes. For those interested, I will hopefully begin posting that in a couple of months, as well as a few shorter looks at Hok and Konzu's history.
> 
> Thanks for reading,  
> ThistleCity


End file.
